Return - Escape Sequel
by Skylene
Summary: Berk was never the same when their hero passed 5 years ago. Snotlout traveled to sea with his father. Astrid was left behind to care for the her son alone. But when a curious Alpha discovers that his best friend was held captive, he doesn't hesitate to engage. Little did they know that it was the start of a journey filled with sacrifices.
1. Chapter 1

_Imagine if you had a second chance at life._

 _Imagine if you woke up one day with a memory so blank – yet so filled with distant memories; memories from when you were alive and memories from when you were gone._

 _Imagine if you stretched out your hand to reach up to the one thing that gave you a sense of comfort; the sky. The all too familiar feeling of floating radiating from it; of flying with a pair of wings that weren't yours_.

 _Imagine waking up one day; dreaming of your companion, dreaming of your family, your home, your fiancé. But then suddenly wondering if they were even alive. If they even existed anymore._

 _ **If**_ _they ever existed._

 _Imagine if you woke up alone with only the howling wind and rustling leaves to accompany you; to settle your panic; to settle your mind._

 _Was this the afterlife?_

 _Was this_ _ **Valhalla**_ _?_

 _Was this_ **Midgard?**

 _I wasn't so sure anymore of anything; how my body worked, how my mind was processing, but most importantly..._

 _How I was here._

 _ **Why**_ _I was here._

 _ **Alive.**_

 _ **Or am I still dead?**_

 _Imagine if...this was you._

 _What would you have done?_

 _Would you get up and find your way home?_

 _Or would you seek answers without knowing what you'd even put yourself into?_

 _I would most certainly try to balance both; even if it meant I'd lose my second chance._

 _ **My only chance.**_


	2. Chapter 2

The waves splashed gently against the mossy wooden planks of a ship as it sailed out of the vast Archipelago. There was nothing more refreshing than waking up to the sight of sailing towards a sunrise; the salty air from the ocean below filling one's nostril;

 _Today was a brand-new day._

A brand-new day where fishing for breakfast became, for once in a long time, more important than discovering new land; discovering new species; discovering new people. The crew of the Berkian fleet represented many things; Safety, comfort, shelter and healers. But most importantly;

 _It represented peace._

After leaving Berk to start a new life, Snotlout had learned one thing: That

Leaving Berk taught Snotlout one thing; one thing that never seemed to leave his mind; one thing that had been carved, if not burnt, into his bones; one thing that was marked into his brain;

 _The world needed the knowledge of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe._

It became familiar to Snotlout, as his father's fleet (in which he helped control) had tried to redeem a land north-west of the Archipelago, that not enough people knew about the Dragons. They didn't know how to control them; or as the Berkians aimed to encourage; how to train them. The world for the most part was still fighting a war against the giant, flying lizards, and Snotlout felt as if it was their duty to make sure they convinced as many as they could. To teach them about the intelligent creatures that could change the way everyone looked at a war.

One thing he learned from the Southern Islands, was that they were no different from how the North, or rather how their long dead enemies used to abuse the creature's powers. He never wanted to teach islands how to **use** the dragons for war. No one from Berk did.

 _He wanted to teach them how the dragons could be used for their own good; their people's good._

He wanted to teach them that instead of war, which for the most part was encouraged due to the lack of supplies and gold a village had, they could use the dragons to gain the much-needed supplies peacefully.

Now, the term "using dragons" doesn't sound very creature friendly; but it was the reality. It was how they lived on Berk, except that the dragons were also their friends and even their family. Snotlout knew, however, that he would be delusional to believe that the whole world would end up like they had back home. It was rather a more positive way to encourage more islands to take care of the dragons.

 _He just hoped they would understand and experience the magnificence the dragons gave in return._

"Good morning, lad," Spitelout hummed as he walked towards his son, who stood at the front of the ship; his eyes scanning the horizon with passion and pride. His father's hands rested neatly behind his back as he walked up to stand beside him.

Snotlout's eyes didn't leave the horizon. "I can't believe we're actually leaving the Archipelago," He breathed out.

Spitelout chuckled at that. He followed his gaze and breathed in the salty air. "The Berserker Tribe were quite a handful, aye?"

Snotlout looked at his father for a small moment, before he smiled and shook his head. "I guess it helped slightly that Berk already had a relation to them."

"Aye," Spitelout nodded. "Though you can never be too careful with someone like their chief."

"I would never be careful with someone who called themselves deranged," Snotlout laughed faintly and looked at his father again. "Do you think Berk will be alright? I mean...It's been a while since we've been there and all. But if the Berserkers do turn and go for them..."

Spitelout clapped him on his shoulder and pulled him close with a laugh. "That crazy man would never get past the Berkians! You know we're all stubborn and far crazier than that man alone."

"I'm not even sure if that's a good thing," Snotlout admitted with a small smile. He walked with his father back inside to look at the map they were continuing.

While his father looked over it together with a fellow commander, his mind clouded up slightly and he was sent back to the day he received the treasure;

 _His cousin's map._

He remembered back to the day when he was taking farewell with his friends; Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Astrid and Gustav. He remembered back to the day when he was holding back the tears that Fishlegs couldn't hold and neither could the little boy that was a split copy of himself. He remembered taking farewell with Astrid's one-year old son, Aiden.

But most importantly;

 _He remembered taking farewell with his past._

His horrific past that lingered with so much regret and pain. His horrific past where he tormented his younger cousin for being born differently; for being born into the house of the chief without reaching the circumstances that he himself did.

He left behind his jealousy and brought with him a part of his still grieving self; the part of him that wished he had manned up to Hiccup when he was still alive and well; the part of him that wished he had told him how he felt and how sorry he was even though he was sure he could apologize a million times over without feeling any different.

Then again, his cousin was always forgiving. He admired that. How he could forgive someone who stepped on him every single day; how he could forgive someone who humiliated him every day.

But that made him wonder even more; Did Hiccup actually ever forgive him?

 _Or did his cousin keep it all in to the very end?_

The sight of the map again brought back memories he was trying so hard to conceal with his new life; both good and bad memories.

 _Both hurt equally much._

The image of Astrid's face popped into his mind when he looked at the notebook which was laid aside on the table. She had gone to his house the day before he would leave; the day when he was packing his stuff. Snotlout could right away tell how she was feeling; having to still deal with Hiccup's loss and now her friend leaving as well.

But Snotlout could also tell that she understood. That she understood why he had to leave. Snotlout believed that perhaps it was the only reason it finally ended up in his possession; he believed it wouldn't be passed on to the leaving fleet if he hadn't traveled with. At least, he doubted it would.

Few words had been exchanged and spoken that night. Snotlout was afraid it would be the same old, "Stay safe out here" that he would tell his father when he left along with the other Berkians for searching missions as a child.

In a way, it did end up as it; and Snotlout could remember how he wept like a child in her arms even though he promised himself he wouldn't. But on the other hand, the book Astrid handed him, with tears that broke through her own shield, gave him a sense of hope and direction. A path to start on;

 _A path to follow._

Snotlout figured he may never become a chief, even though he was sure Stoick would need the support when he grew older. It wasn't the fact that he no longer felt like he could reach the standards he used to reach; it was the fact that he feared he would disappoint his cousin even more. It was the fear of failing more at life than he had before;

 _But it was also the grief of living the life his deceased cousin should have lead._

"Oi, Lad," The Viking beside his father, Bjorn, spoke. It cut the young lad out of his thoughts and back into the reality he lived in now, and not the present. "You still with us?"

Snotlout swallowed thickly. "Yeah, sorry." He rested his hands on the wooden table and looked over the map with a slightly clearer mind.

On the map were eight carved out Viking sculptures, scattered across the archipelago. They had decided that when the situation at Berserker Island was controlled, a part of the fleet would split up and scout ahead of them. Now, they were alone as the rest had left a couple of days earlier to meet up with the rest of the fleet.

"By my calculations..." Bjorn spoke again since Snotlout hadn't heard. Snotlout was by now the one who mainly made the decisions. It was both because Spitelout wanted him to gain experience, and the fact that Spitelout didn't want to admit he did already have more experience than himself. "They should meet up with us about here." He moved the sculptures across the map and to the undiscovered Southern Ocean. He lastly moved the wooden object that represented their own ship in a straight line where the fleet met.

Snotlout nodded at that. "I see," he looked across the map, wondering what they would discover; and what the others had discovered.

They didn't have much time to discuss any further as the ship suddenly lowered abruptly. The force knocked over the bricks and mugs from yesterday's victory toast fell on the floor.

Snotlout looked up and immediately rushed out with his father. Their footsteps slowed down as they were met by the familiar sight of the alpha and Snotlout's trusty dragon, Hookfang.

A sigh of relief escaped Snotlout's lips. "Toothless."

He smiled faintly and held his hand up as the dragon moved in to greet him. He barely acknowledged his father walking inside again with a small grunt as his dragon wanted attention as well.

"What have you two been up to now, huh?" Snotlout chuckled and scratched their snouts.

Hookfang crooned and growled lightly as he rubbed his snout against his rider's hand. The Night Fury on the other hand just watched the two for a split second, before it's neon green eyes searched the ship.

Snotlout patted Hookfang's snout and went downstairs to fetch a basket for the two. It had become a habit that Toothless visited him, and a habit that Hookfang left with the Night Fury. The Vikings were quite confused and surprised when they first spotted the dragon so far from home, yet Snotlout had a feeling he knew why. A terrible terror mail confirmed his belief not much later;

 _Toothless was searching for Hiccup._

Snotlout didn't quite understand how it hadn't gone through to the wise creature's mind. He was there when Hiccup passed – when they had his funeral and when his spirit went to Valhalla. Even more, he didn't understand why Toothless left Berk. He had Hiccup's family – Hiccup's son to protect. He had people who loved and took care of him at Berk;

 _Yet the dragon chose the a journey to search until his wings could no longer carry him._

Snotlout could only imagine how painful it must have been to watch the dragon fly away the day he did. To be expected to never be seen again. He wasn't even sure if Toothless had yet to travel back home once;

 _Maybe Berk held painful memories for the dragon as it did for himself._

"Here you go," Snotlout smiled and set the basket down before the Night Fury before he quickly fetched one for his dragon as well. The two dragons started to eat quietly and quickly; Toothless in a much more hurry than the Monstrous Nightmare. "Easy there," Snotlout said and rested his head on Toothless' head which had the dragon stop and look at him with a faint growl. "You need to rest," He said seriously, staring into the eyes that glared back into his. "Eating isn't resting. Sleeping is," he said. "And when was the last time you slept?"

Snotlout could see the dragon was a lot weaker than before – he most likely would have been a skin and bones dragon if he didn't stop by for food occasionally.

 _Maybe the dragon still had some common sense left._

Toothless gave a faint growl as if resisting the thought of rest. As if resting made him weak – as if it took too much time that he didn't have.

Hookfang, on the other hand, laid down right away and curled up when he heard the voice rest. The Night Fury had flown around non-stop with him on his tail. Unlike Toothless, Hookfang did know his own limits – yet with Toothless being the alpha, his limits were pushed and so was his health.

Snotlout sighed and kneeled beside his dragon to comfort him. He knew their life wouldn't last long as it should have if they kept this up – especially for his Monstrous Nightmare.

With a final look of hope, his eyes met Toothless and the dragon seemed to lay down slightly. Snotlout smiled faintly at that and watched the two. During the time it took to catch up with the rest of their fleet, Toothless made sure to watch every wave passing – every block of ice and every peak of shore that his rider could ever be stranded on.

When the ships were docked to each other and Snotlout was sure everything was going just well with every ship, he stepped inside to the meeting room again together with his father and the other captains of the ships.

Snotlout watched the other's expectantly as the voices quieted down and a serious focus filled the air. "Well?"

The captains took turn in telling what they had found; but as it turned out it went again and again as if they had been sailing around the same islands. "We didn't pass any unknown territories, but as we were there we made sure to check in on the dragons inhabited there," A Viking named Frida explained. She went on with the status report that there were no "unfamiliar behavior that was of any concern" and from there the Vikings had changed direction to regroup.

"That's good, though," Snotlout murmured slightly to himself. Just like the other Vikings that once lived at Berk, he had evolved and become more familiar with the unfamiliar world around them. Aside from growing a few inches and growing a small mustache, he had also grown mature. He viewed the world from different points of view and was finally able to understand the perspective of other's about the dragon specie. One thing was sure, though;

 _He wouldn't have learned it from anyone else than his cousin and his work._

As they spoke and discussed about what waters to trespass into next, one of the crewmembers hurried inside with a new report. Everyone's eyes fell on him.

"One of the barrelmen spotted an island on the horizon," He said a bit rushed. "We're unsure if it is inhabited."

Snotlout looked at his father for a moment before he followed the man outside – the other captains followed shortly on his trail. As he looked at the horizon, he spotted the island far ahead. It looked nothing like they had come across, as far as he could tell. The trees were large and crowded, and as he took out his binoculars, he could spot the much-known symbol of Viking Inhabitants outside the island.

There were several Viking statues surrounding the large island, but one thing that caught his attention aside from the abnormally large number of statues, was the fact that most of them were mossy and half broken. As if there had been a war far behind their knowledge.

"What do we do?" The messenger asked, and all eyes fell on Snotlout for his decision. The Viking bit his lip in thoughts before he nodded.

"Take us in there," Snotlout said and motioned to the captains to get back to their ships. "We can't leave any island untouched."

The Vikings nodded before they hurried off and set the crew to work.

Spitelout stepped up beside his son and looked over the island coming further and further into their view. "I don't think they will be very friendly when they spot a whole fleet trespassing their territory uninvited, lad."

"To be fairly honest, dad," Snotlout laid his binoculars down in his belt again. "I don't think anyone is living there," he looked over at the Night Fury for a short moment before he looked back at the island. "It seems abandoned."

Spitelout nodded slightly. "Let's hope you're right," he said and moved to get their crew to work as well.

Snotlout walked over to Toothless, but as he was about to assure him that they would take a look – Toothless' began glowing.

"What in Odins...?" Snotlout muttered and stepped back. He watched his spikes in shock.

Hookfang growled slightly and snapped his head up.

The icy blue light distracted the crew from doing their task, and even distracted the Night Fury himself for short moments. Then all of a sudden;

 _The Night Fury spread his wings and lept into the air._

Snotlout's voice faded into the roar of his companion who soon spread its wings as well. Due to his good reaction time, Snotlout managed to grab onto Hookfang before he could leave him yet again – with no trace and assurance.

"Snotlout!" His father yelled as the dragon brought him further away from the fleet and closer and closer to the island. He banged his hand against the wooden fences of the ship. "Follow them!" He roared out to the other captains before he whipped his crew to work.

Snotlout's hands clenched slightly as he held onto his dragon's horns. It had been such a long time since he was able to fly up so high – and so fast. The feeling almost made him as nauseous as the first days at sea did.

The viking did his best to stay silent. The last thing he wanted to do was to disturb the two and have them abduct him just to eat him alive. As he settled his stomach and mind, he finally let himself look over the situation he was in. Just then, they were flying down towards the deep forest of the island.

Snotlout only caught a small glimpse of the island from above before they dove down – and what he saw didn't settle his gut anymore. In the center of the island was a huge crater that seemed to be filled with green, slightly growing fog. Though he wasn't sure he had seen it, he knew that if his eyes didn't betray them; they were in trouble.

 _And Toothless was leading them right into the heart of it._

Toothless stopped and hovered over the deep crater. Even and deep growls escaped the Night Fury as he scanned the deep hole that Snotlout could only imagine went even deeper than the fog would let his eyes see.

Snotlout led Hookfang over to Toothless and looked down as well. "This isn't good..." He whispered as he caught the smell of it – the all too familiar smell of death.

"Toothless," Snotlout said a little more harsher than he first intended to. The dragon snapped at him with a growl, but the Viking didn't back down. "We can't stay here," Snotlout tried to reason. "Whatever this is – is something we can't deal with alone. We need the others."

Toothless growled faintly and looked down again. His ears soon snapped up and his nostrils flared. In a flash, he turned around and dove down towards the forest.

Snotlout, thinking he had managed to reason with the dragon, immediately had his companion follow the Alpha. It soon became clear to them as they landed that reasoning with the desperate Night Fury was almost far from impossible.

Toothless growled and hissed slightly as he walked around in circles. His nostrils flared and worked immensely. The stress radiating off of the dragon worried Snotlout.

"Buddy," Snotlout said and slowly slipped off of Hookfang. He walked up to him, but before he even managed to touch the scaly creature – his own senses started to awaken abruptly.

 _Voices._

Snotlout hurried to get the two dragons to cover – secretly thanking Odin for making the dragon listen for once. Hookfang moved his wing over the glowing dragon and lowered himself into the bushes. The three watched the direction of the voices quietly.

 _"We need to get him back before he wakes," A scratchy, old voice spoke._

 _"How did he even get out?" Another male spoke – evidently younger than the one from before._

 _"I don't know," The elder spoke. "But it won't matter."_

Snotlout lowered himself slightly more into the bushes as the voices came closer and closer. He could feel his own breath get caught in his chest – if he let it out he feared he would blow their cover. The dragons acted no different.

Soon the figures came into view. Two cloaked men – one smaller and skinnier whilst the other was brawnier and taller. Snotlout could only guess whose voice belonged to who as they didn't speak anymore.

However, there was one figure that caught Snotlout's eyes more than the two. Someone he hadn't heard the voice of – someone he could only guess they were talking about.

Between the two men was another male. His head was bagged, and his arms were tied behind his back as the two dragged his lifeless body with them. Snotlout wasn't sure what it meant – were they guards on the island? Was the man a prisoner who had escaped?

No more thoughts were allowed into his mind as he found his focus ripped back into reality. A black and blue shadow lept out of the bush beside him and tackled the men down. The last thing Snotlout could remember of what seemed to be a nightmare he couldn't wake up from, was himself shouting.

 _"Toothless!"_

 **Hope you're enjoying the story so far 3**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Back at Berk, a small red headed little boy walked with his gaze on the ground. His friends were running ahead of him excitedly with their small hatchling dragons, pretending to be the famous dragon riders of Berk.

They had always fancied the youths – well, for as long as they could remember hearing the tales of them at least. But most of all – they fancied the young lad's father the most. The peacekeeper and dragon master that he once was.

 _The one person he seemed to know the least about despite him being a topic of everyday life._

Aiden sighed quietly and hugged his arms slightly as he finally lifted his gaze and looked to the clouds on the horizon. He found his feet slowed down until he finally stopped and took in the sight fully. Even though it had been 5 years since his father passed and since his birth, he still felt as though a part of him was missing.

Astrid was doing her best raising him alone. His grandparents were of good help like everyone else, but they all had tasks they needed to get done from the moment they woke and before they slept yet again.

It didn't help that she was still dealing with his loss, and that she knew it took an effect on her son as well. Even though she did take him out on adventures with Stormfly and taught him how to fight, he mirrored his deceased father more than herself;

 _He went crazy at the thought of exploring, but always tried to hide whenever she or anyone mentioned training. Whether it was dragon training or physical training._

Astrid worried for his sake, despite him being so young still. She wanted him to learn how to fight in the early stages, so it would become easier for him later in life, but Aiden never had his mind set on it when they finally did practice. She could see it in his eyes – his forest green eyes.

The boy was clearly a part of the chieftain family – there was no doubt. He had a small frame just like his father and grandmother, and his hair was as wild and red as the chief's would be if his wife didn't take care of it in the morning.

But as it seemed, he barely showed any sign that he was even Astrid's child. He never wanted to touch a weapon unless he really was forced into it, and he never seemed to race towards the danger (if it ever occurred), like a normal, curious small Viking would.

One thing was sure though – She could see it in his eyes. His beautiful, glossy eyes that shimmered in the morning light.

 _He didn't fear as much as the other kids did – or as his father had as a child. He was brave in the times he needed to be the most._

The thought had scared Astrid a bit. Her son had often seemed so calm and collected, but deep down she felt as if he was just hiding it all behind a mask; behind a mask someone his age shouldn't even have to wear.

She knew the thought of not having a father – whom everyone talked and praised, was tough for him. But she didn't know what to say or do – whatever came out of her mouth would never bring his father back.

He was gone forever. They both had to learn how to live with that reality.

Aiden squeaked slightly as one of his friends, Garth, jumped in front of him with a green and red monstrous nightmare hatchling in his small arms.

"What do you think?" Garth giggled and looked at Aiden expectantly with his blue, grey eyes. His dark brown hair was ruffled up and greased slightly due to them playing all day.

"Huh?" Aiden looked at him confused. He hadn't paid any attention to his friends at all.

His other friend, Eric, soon hurried up beside them. A Deadly Nadder hopped after the blonde boy and ran around their legs as it tried to play with the Monstrous Nightmare.

Garth whined and cried out as the monstrous nightmare set its head on fire to get free. He dropped it right away and hid behind Eric slightly. They still weren't too used with the responsibility of having a dragon.

Eric giggled. "Do you think your father fly to end of world?"

A small coo left Aiden's mouth. He held his little blue, handmade dragon, that his mother had gifted him, tighter in his arms. Not much later, his eyes fell on it. Whenever he held it, he felt a small presence of safety – of what he liked to imagine was his father, as it had been his. He never wanted to replace it for anything in the world – which was one of the reasons he didn't yet have a dragon.

"I..." Aiden cooed quietly.

"Do you think he trained a really big dwagon?" Garth smiled brightly and moved away from his friends back when he felt safe again. "I heard he fight dwagon as big as this!" He jumped up with his hands in the air.

"And he lost his toe!" Eric fangirled.

"No!" Garth smacked him playfully. "his leg you dummy!"

"I-I think so..." Aiden nodded slightly and hugged his dragon. "Mom don't wanna say-

"Dad told me all stories in bed!" Garth said proudly.

"My dad did too!" Eric smiled happily and started to run ahead playfully with his hands spread out like wings. The two dragons squawked and cooed before following and mimicking the boy. "And how he swooshes and swish with lesstoof!"

Garth giggled and ran after them as well. It didn't take long before the four had left the red-haired boy alone in the middle of the plaza. Vikings were passing by, doing their own tasks and chores. Most of them greeted him but exchanged a worried look with one another as the little Viking stared down at his stuffed animal.

Aiden held it tightly with shaky hands. His father had never read him anything. His grandfather always did, since his grandmother wasn't as good as telling the tales herself. He couldn't quite understand why though. All he understood was that his father was non-existent. And even that, he barely understood anything of.

His eyes watered. He couldn't help but sob at the thought. Where was his father? Mom had said he had gone to heaven, but they always flew around in the sky. Was that not the same thing?

Stoick stopped what he was doing as a Viking hurried up to him and informed him about the heartbroken boy a bit further away from where he was. A sigh escaped his lips as he noticed. With a small nod at the Viking, he went over to the boy and carefully kneeled beside him. His large hand caressed the lad's back gently to not scare him.

Aiden looked up at him with tears streaming non-stop down his cheeks. He ran into his arms and cried into them.

Stoick smiled sadly and hugged him close. He slowly got up with him in his arms. "Shh...It's alright little lad," he stroked his head and back to calm him down. Just the feeling of the quivering boy alone made his heart break. It didn't top it any better hearing him sob his little heart out.

Aiden didn't say anything between his sobs and breaths, and Stoick didn't push him to either. He just kept holding him and soothing him until the little boy exhausted himself.

"Let's head home," Stoick hummed softly and started to walk away from the plaza and towards the house.

The little boy sniffled and looked up at his grandpa. "W-where papa?" he said with a voice that broke mid-sentence. More tears filled his eyes.

Stoick sighed and looked down at him. He then looked up at the sky and soon Aiden did as well. "He's up there, dining with the Gods," he smiled sadly, feeling a tear shed from his eye.

"S-sky..." Aiden cooed quietly. He slowly reached up for it. "Visit papa?" he looked up at Stoick again with a shine of hope in his eyes.

Stoick smiled sadly and wiped away the tears from Aiden's eyes. "One day," he nodded. "One day we'll visit him again, but not yet, okay?"

Aiden slowly smiled at the thought. They would be able to visit him one day! Everyone had always told him it was impossible, but his grandpa believed. And so he did as well.

"But until then," Stoick chuckled and lifted his chin. "You'll have to live on and do enough to keep him awake all day and night with your stories!"

Aiden giggled and squealed at that. He hugged the dragon tightly. "A-advenfure!"

Stoick laughed and ruffled his hair. He held him close as they walked the last steps up to their house where he knew his wife and Daughter-In-Law was.

At the last step, Aiden wiggled his way out of his arms and Stoick had no choice but to set him down and let him run inside before him. While the boy was finally distracted, Stoick couldn't say the same. He had dreaded the day he would have to seriously talk with Astrid about her attitude, and it finally seemed as if the day had come.

 _He just hoped she would take it the right way. For Aiden's sake._

The little lad's new mood turned the rest of the day into an endless circle of stories after stories. Valka and Stoick took their turns telling him different stories about when he was a baby and when he was older. Of course, Valka didn't have as much experience with it, but she did her best to keep the boy entertained so that the already exhausted chief wouldn't have to do it all alone.

Astrid on the other hand sat with the little boy in her arms the whole time and barely spoke a word. The only times she did was when Stoick tried his best to include her for Aiden's sake. While Aiden saw past it all and enjoyed it with no doubt, Stoick could feel Astrid's impatience rise. How she wanted nothing else but to leave the conversation and head of on her own to throw axes.

When the evening finally came, and Astrid had to put the little one to sleep, Valka suggested she could take him since Stoick had claimed he wanted to speak with her. While Aiden got a little pouty at that, he eventually crawled into his grandmother's arms and let her carry his tired soul and body to bed.

Astrid looked at the fire silently as the footsteps faded onto the creaking wood upstairs.

Stoick cleared his throat and looked at the fire as well. Neither of them was too fond of these conversations which made Stoick strongly believe that he made a mistake – that he should have taken Aiden to bed and let Valka handle the talk instead.

"I guess...You have an idea of what I wanted to talk to you about," Stoick said simply. He looked over at her for a small moment while she looked away.

"Yeah...A part of it," Astrid said in a small whisper.

Stoick nodded at that but decided not to push too far. "Aiden needs you, you know," He said and cut her off before she got to protest. "More than ever."

"I'm trying my best," Astrid sighed and ran her head across her face. "But it's not so easy when everyone brings him up in every conversation we have."

"Aye," Stoick sighed and looked at the fire again. "He left quite a lot behind him."

Astrid hugged herself slightly and looked at the fire as well. "How...do you cope with it? When you see Aiden?"

Stoick curled his lip slightly as he thought. "It's not easy, that's for sure," he said. "But Aiden needs it," he looked at her. "Hiccup...He's not coming back. He's gone."

Astrid looked up at him teary eyed.

"Don't take yourself out of his life as well," Stoick said a bit sternly to make sure she understood the seriousness of the situation. "He resembles him a lot. There's no denying that," he shook his head. "But he's a different person – a young lad, whose dealing with this on his own."

"He's not alone," Astrid argued. "He has me-

"He does," Stoick nodded. "But he doesn't understand it himself."

Astrid went silent.

"He's going through what a child should never have to – yet it's so common," Stoick sighed and looked at the fire again. "Back when we were in war with dragons and other Vikings, numerous of children were left homeless or traumatized with no one to take care of them. Even if they had a parent left, they always took care of themselves first."

"I'm not saying that's what you're doing," Stoick said with a small smile. "I see how you're doing your best at times. You've done amazing these last few years, but lately...It has faded. Is it because of Aiden? Or is it because of Hiccup?"

Astrid looked at him, tears falling silently from her eyes. She gently wiped them away and looked at the fire again. "I see him with his friends," she sighed and looked at her hands. "I see how they only talk about Hiccup around him and how older Vikings do as well. Especially when he doesn't want to hear about it. It's no wonder he prefers to be around you and Valka and Fishlegs as well."

"But...?" Stoick encouraged her.

"But...I never mention him," Astrid sighed and looked up at him. "I never mention Hiccup, yet he seems to distance himself from me too," She said, the last part escaping her lips more quietly.

"Maybe..." Stoick went silent for a moment. "You don't talk enough about him. He's going to learn the harsh truth of what happened one time or another – hel, he might even already know."

"But until then," Stoick encouraged her. "You should fill the happiness that my son left behind. He deserves to know of it all – but only if he wants to himself. You saw how he was when we came home together."

Astrid sighed, feeling guilty of the moment. She nodded. "He came up to me and asked if I could tell him everything about him." And she had refused. Valka had stepped in to make the situation process at least a little in the right direction.

"Aye," Stoick nodded. "My advice to you is to let Aiden decide. He'll know when he wants to hear about him and when he doesn't," Stoick smiled up at her. "It might get a little easier as well since he'll encourage it out of you."

They stayed silent for a bit.

"It helps...doesn't it?" Stoick asked. Astrid looked at him again. "To talk about him?"

Astrid sighed and smiled slightly. "Yeah...It's better than keeping it hidden from him."

Stoick smiled a little more at that. "Keep telling him all the adventures you can remember. He'll appreciate hearing it from you, rather from the village since they all have their own, absurd versions," he laughed.

Astrid laughed a bit at that as well. The first few months, she had heard quite a lot of strange stories in the Great Hall.

"If it helps...I'll talk to the villagers," Stoick suggested. "I'll call in a meeting and tell them to ease off a bit about all the tales and discussions regarding him."

"You could do that?" Astrid smiled slightly and wiped her eyes.

Stoick laughed and slowly lifted himself up from his seat to stretch his body. He could feel that his own back was quite stiff from sitting half of the day. "There's nothing a chieftain can't do."

Astrid was about to get up as well, when Stoick brought up another topic while they had the time to talk together alone.

"Have you thought about finding another father for him?" Stoick asked and picked up a metal rod to move around the burning logs in the fire with.

If it hadn't been for the change in the mood, Astrid would have probably yelled at him for asking her that. Instead, she calmly collected herself and nodded. She couldn't lie after all.

"Yeah," Astrid nodded and sat up slightly. She watched the chief. "It's popped up in my mind a few times..."

"And?" Stoick asked as she didn't continue.

Astrid sighed. "I want Aiden to have a father, but I never had any better relationship with anyone else in Berk. I don't think he has any either."

Stoick shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think that should be entirely up to him, you know. You'll be the one to find your love – and it will be his job to help make Aiden feel safe and welcome."

"I know," Astrid nodded. "But now is not the time. If I can learn to be more with him again, I should be good enough," she smiled slightly. "I'll still have it in mind though."

Stoick nodded with a small smile as well. "Just know that whatever you decide to do, we'll support you all the way," He said and looked at her, nodding his head reassuringly. "Not just because Aiden is a part of our family."

Astrid smiled gratefully at that. "Thank you, chief," she said and slowly got up as Valka walked downstairs.

The woman smiled warmly. "He fell asleep quite quickly," She giggled slightly, but realized it wasn't the right words to use. It only gave away that she had listened in on the conversation.

Astrid thanked her with a smile and decided not to bring it up in the conversation. "I think I will head upstairs and rest as well," she said and made her way to the stairs. The further up she got, the more muffled the noises became downstairs. Both because the two Vikings were quiet and because her mind was blocking out most of it.

When she came up to the bed, she slowly sat down and looked down at her hand. On her finger was a golden ring with a blue orb that reflected her eyes. Valka had given the ring to her, which she later, after Hiccup's funeral, discovered was the ring Hiccup wanted to give her as a betrothal.

Valka had said that when the two talked back at the sanctuary, Hiccup had said the ring was supposed to be a symbol of eternity. It was a tradition he had learned from trader Johann's stories about the roman culture.

Astrid let out a small laugh at the thought. She never had the opportunity to tell him that she despised the romans, but this had changed her view slightly. The idea was cute – there was no doubt. But with him being gone, it was rather sad since she understood there would no longer be an eternity with them together – not before she passed as well.

Carefully, as if it would break and shatter by the slightest of flaw in gravity, she took it off.

The last two years had been the hardest for her and Aiden. With him growing up and learning more about his deceased father, and with him growing up to becoming more and more like his father once was.

And finally, a new door had opened for her – a new door that led her into a life that wasn't filled with sorrow and despair.

But before she could walk into it;

 _She had to let go of the only man she had ever loved._

 **Half way into writing this I got pretty guilty about putting you guys through another emotional rollercoaster hahaha xD**

 **Hope you enjoyed though and got a little view on how Astrid and Aiden is handling everything even after all that time having passed.**

 **Let me know what you think will happen next - who the man could possibly be and what those guards were doing?**

 **A hint - It might come a bit more unexpected than you thought it would be ;D**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

_"Toothless!"_ Snotlout cried out, tumbling over the twigs from the bush. He rushed after the dragon, but stopped abruptly together with Hookfang as the guards were already knocked out clean. "Ahh...I guess that works too," He groaned faintly.

Soon Snotlout's attention went to the prisoner as he moved. He told the dragons to back off slightly while he carefully removed the bag on his head and stepped back as well.

When he threw away the bag, he took a good look of the prisoner. He was wearing a ripped up tunic with few wounds peeking out of the holes. His pants were in a poor state as well. Maybe he had escaped whatever prison he was kept in? Did that mean Vikings used the island as a prison? Beneath all that fog?

When Snotlout looked at his face, he could see that he was at least passed his 30s. His frame didn't look like the typical Viking either - he was small and only slightly beefy. His hair was shaved off as well and he had a nicely cut beard that could confirm he wasn't a Viking. If anything, he could have been from the romans side. His clothes argued with that statement though.

Was he an important person?

Snotlout whined faintly and slowly picked up Hookfang's tail. He poked the prisoner's head with it.

Hookfang huffed out a puff of fire onto Snotlout's helmet in annoyance. He then pulled away his tail and toddled over to the man.

Snotlout grumbled at his dragon and soon looked back at the man with a much less tough and irritated face. Being unarmed wasn't exactly a good idea when rescuing a random prisoner. Then again, he did have the two dragons.

Toothless slowly sniffed the male with his big, curious eyes. Not a moment passed before they were replaced with slits and he jumped back with a growl. Snotlout and Hookfang got alerted and backed off again much more focused.

"What's wrong buddy?" Snotlout asked, looking over at the Night Fury for a split second. He didn't want to take his eyes from the target for too long.

Toothless shook his nose and pawed it faintly. His spikes soon glowed even more and he looked up again. With a final growl, he started to run into the woods again.

"Toothless!" Snotlout yelled after him and was about to chase, but realized again - he couldn't leave the prisoner alone. Not after they had rescued him - he needed answers.

The Viking groaned in irritation and looked back at the prisoner. "I guess it's just you and I now," He muttered and looked over at Hookfang. Not even a second passed before the Monsterous Nightmare ran after his friend, leaving his rider completely unprotected and defenseless. "HOOKFANG!" Snotlout yelled after him, more annoyed than afraid. That changed, however, when he realized again what kind of sticky situation he was in.

Snotlout gulped and slowly looked over at the prisoner again. His eyes slowly widened as he only saw two body's laying before him. And neither of them belonged to the prisoner.

"D-don't...move," A breathy and deep voice spoke behind him. The voice wore a thick accent which reminded him a lot of a Viking's.

The prisoner poked his back lightly with a stick, which soon had Snotlout laugh. He moved his hand behind him to grab it. "What will you do with that-

Snotlout didn't even know what happened. One moment, he was standing there with two dragons, poking an unconscious Viking, and in the current time he was laying on his back, pain radiating up his arm and back.

"O-okay, that's what..." Snotlout groaned and rolled over slightly. He tried to look up at the prisoner who immediately pointed the stick at his eyeball. The Viking gulped carefully, as if fearing that a single move would trigger him to stab his eye out.

"Who are you?" The prisoner hissed faintly. Snotlout noticed that due to his injuries, he was leaning slightly more on his front leg than an experienced fighter would when concentrated. If only he could... "I will not ask you again!" The prisoner yelled a bit louder before kicking Snotlout's jaw, causing the Viking to fall and roll against the two unconscious guards.

Snotlout groaned in agony and sat up slightly as he held his cheek. He dared to look up at the prisoner whose expression had suddenly changed. Before, he looked as if he would snap - which he did indeed do, at anything, but now...He looked shocked and confused nonetheless. His eyes weren't focused on Snotlout anymore, but the guards instead.

Snotlout slowly put together the picture despite his aching jaw. He rubbed it slightly. "I was trespassing when I saw you with them," He said honestly before coughing out some blood and a tooth.

The prisoner stumbled back slightly. He lowered his guard and leaned against the tree. "I..." He breathed out. Soon a smile shaped on his lips. "I'm free..." he whispered.

Snotlout slowly watched him. With caution, he got up while caressing his injured jaw. He swore he would end his dragon when he found him...

"Who are you?" Snotlout asked, not daring to take his eyes from him after what had just unfolded. He watched as the prisoner threw away the stick and held his injured side instead.

"Grimborn," The man spoke softly. "Viggo Grimborn."

Snotlout eyed him carefully for a moment before he lowered his guard only slightly. "Why were you captured by them?"

Viggo sighed and clutched his side. "I was sold off by my own commander," He muttered slightly. "This island is anything but the paradise, my friend. They take anyone who can be suitable for their beliefs."

"Suitable?" Snotlout narrowed his eyes, before he realized. "You mean sacrifices?"

"Aye," The Viking nodded and slowly limped over to the guards. He searched around in their clothes before he pulled out a dagger. Snotlout tensed up right away. "Here," He threw it up in his hand so that the blade landed between his fingers and the handle was directed towards Snotlout.

Unsure, Snotlout slowly took it. Suddenly his confidence rose again and he felt as if he was in power of, whatever the situation had become. "So you were one of their sacrifices?"

The Viking nodded again before he carefully got up. "Me and someone else," He spoke calmly and motioned for Snotlout to follow before he made his way into the woods. Snotlout followed with caution.

"A friend?" Snotlout asked, eyeing Viggo carefully.

Viggo soon shook his head and kept limping through the twigs and broken branches. "He was a prisoner, just like me. He was in a poor state, though, so I had to hide him," He explained, his eyes scanning the area.

Snotlout did as well while he quietly listened. He didn't want to get ambushed after all. Not by a wild dragon and not by the people of this island.

"I hid him in a cave, but I knew the guards would search for us," Viggo kept explaining. "I didn't realize I was pretty injured due to the heat of the moment, but the guards did, and they caught me off guard nonetheless." He slowly stopped and turned halfway towards him. "If it wasn't for you, I would have been thrown to my death," He said with a small, grateful smile.

Snotlout returned it, secretly hoping he had done the right thing. Well, more like Toothless, but...

"We should be careful though," Viggo said and looked around as he kept walking. "I've only heard tales of what hides in these woods, and it's not pretty."

Snotlout gulped at that and nodded. "G-got it," he said and clutched his dagger tighter. He then followed him reluctantly.

The Viking led them through the woods and up and down hills. Snotlout was surprised that he hadn't asked for a break - nor had he tended to his wounds. Was the person he rescued that important? Could it have been a family member? A fellow commander? Someone from his island?

"Wow, easy there," Viggo pulled him back by his arm roughly as he almost walked off a steep cliff.

Snotlout gulped at that. He had been too distracted by overthinking the situation that he almost dropped himself to death. "T-thanks," he muttered faintly and tried to collect himself. This led them to take a small break.

"Are you alright?" Viggo asked and looked over at him. He slowly let go of his arm, leaving a small blood stain by accident.

"Y-yeah, just...a lot to take in," Snotlout laughed faintly. "This wasn't exactly how I expected the day to go, although when you look back at it and realize you have two moron dragons who are out of their minds..."

"Dragons?" Viggo furrowed his eyebrows at him. "You..."

Snotlout mentally facepalmed himself as he realized he had rambled too much. Well, he might as well continue. Soon he nodded and slowly took off his helmet to run his hand through his black locks of hair. "We train them."

Viggo watched him, a bit bewildered. "I didn't even imagine that was possible."

"It's a long story," Snotlout laughed faintly. "Have you ever heard of Berk?"

Viggo's eyes slowly widened. "You're from Berk?"

Snotlout watched him and soon nodded. "Born and raised."

"That...is such an honor," Viggo bowed slightly, but soon wrenched together in pain. He clutched his side and Snotlout helped support him so he wouldn't fall face first into the dirt. Viggo coughed and took a few breaths to collect himself.

"We need to take care of your wounds," Snotlout sighed. The Viking didn't argue as he led him over to a nearby rock. He slowly sat down and leaned himself back against it. Then, he finally moved away his hand.

Snotlout gently ripped up his shirt with the dagger and had a look at what damage had been done to the prisoner. "That doesn't look good..." Snotlout muttered and inspected him carefully. He had a large, black and blue mark over his left side. Under the skin he could see a small bulge which could only indicate that he had broken a rib or two.

Snotlout sat up and pulled away. He knew it would only be a matter until his broken bone caused more problems, but they still had to search for his friend and then there was Toothless and Hookfang as well. He wanted to search for them with his help, but he could barely walk. Nor could he leave him alone. He would be a too easy prey.

With a deep sigh, he slowly helped him up again. They didn't have any resources, so searching for the dragons any longer than finding the cave would lead to death. "I'm not here alone," Snotlout explained. Before Viggo could comment on the dragons, he cut him off. "The dragons are friends, but for the last few years they have been back and forth. I'm mapping the world together with a fleet in search for more dragons," he said and moved his arm over his shoulder. The Viking watched him with slightly amused and curious eyes.

"After we find the guy, we can head back to the fleet," Snotlout said and walked with him slowly. "We can take care of you."

Viggo let out a smile at that. "Thank you...It is too much to ask for."

"Don't worry about it," Snotlout nodded at him. "Now lead the way."

The Viking nodded and did exactly that - well, as good as he could while supporting himself on the smaller Viking. He led him behind the water fall and continued to guide him past the little mountain peek. When they rounded the corner, Snotlout could spot something in the distance by a cave. It looked like a red tail. Was it a wild dragon?

"Wait here," Snotlout said and carefully helped Viggo sit down, hidden slightly from the view of the cave. When he was sure the Viking would be fine, he quietly hurried into the shadows cast by the bushes and the trees which surrounded the area. With caution, he moved closer and closer to the cave, but made sure to keep himself hidden.

Then all of a sudden, he stepped on a twig.

 _SNAP!_

The red tail was immediately swallowed up by the darkness of the cave. Snotlout could have sworn the dragon had heard him gulp as well - he seemed to do that an awful lot that day. As if prepared for the worse, he slowly backed away and held the dagger in front of him.

A deep growl sounded from the cave before a familiar, red Monstrous Nightmare peeked its head out. Hookfang's slits rounded when he noticed his rider, and he immediately bounced over to him like an excited dog.

"Hey buddy," Snotlout laughed relieved. He petted his dragon's snout as he curled around him and begged for his touch. "You gave me quite the scare there," He sighed and wiped away some sweat from his forehead. He soon smacked the dragon's horn which had the dragon growl and back off. "And you left me there to die!" He yelled at him.

Hookfang puffed out some smoke at him before he nudged his butt towards the cave. Snotlout, confused out by this, slowly turned to him, but tumbled over and onto his butt. "Hey!" He grumbled. Normally his dragon would be rather pissed off, but now...He seemed quite playful and happy. Something he hadn't seen in a long time.

The dragon crooned and nudged him again, forcing him up on his feet. "Alright, alright!" Snotlout groaned and brushed himself from dirt. "I'm going!"

With one final glare at the dragon, he turned and walked towards the cage. For some reason, his heart started to race. Viggo's fellow prisoner was supposed to be in there. Had Hookfang eaten him?

Snotlout grimaced at the thought. As they stepped into the darkness, Hookfang carefully lit himself up in flames to light up the path for him. At the very end of the cave laid a familiar Night Fury curled around another person.

At the final step, Snotlout find himself frozen. His breathing caught up in his throat and his heart skipped a beat. In the paws of the unholy offspring of lightning and death laid a thin, starved body. The night fury was sure to be as gentle to him as possible - as if fearing it would snap any moment.

But that alone wasn't what caught his attention fully.

That body.

Those scars.

 _That face._

There was no way.

"Hiccup..." Snotlout found himself whispering. His hands moved absently as he took off his helmet and dropped down to his knees before the body. He was completely naked aside from the wing of the night fury which shielded his lower body slightly.

"He..." Tears built up in his eyes. He threw his helmet aside and laid his head against his chest right away. At first, he wasn't sure what he was expecting to find. He hadn't seen his chest rise and fall, but he soon believed it was due to the tears blurring his sight. And there it was.

His lungs moving up and down ever so gently.

 _His heart pounding evenly._

Viggo slowly limped over to him with the dragons watching him very carefully. Snotlout couldn't even process it enough to tell them it was fine - that he had found _him._ He couldn't even bring out a word - his mind was overthinking everything. How did he end up here?

 _How was he even alive?_

Snotlout's eyes fell on his face yet again. It wasn't the same as he pictured when he thought of his cousin - it wasn't the same dorky face he had always beaten up when he had the chance.

 _He had aged._

Just like himself.

A new thought soon slipped into his mind. His eyes moved down to the Night Fury's wing which he moved up gently. And surely, there it was. His scarred stump with the teeth marks he had only heard rumors about in the aftermath of the Red Death.

"Do you know him?" Viggo asked slightly surprised. The Viking watched carefully as the male before him moved his head up to him. What he saw, horrified him. The eyes weren't as alert or frightened as before. They were foggy and unfocused - and despite the sense that told him the Viking was completely out of it, there was another sense that told him he was staring right into his own soul.

"Y-yeah..." Snotlout barely made out in a whisper.

" _I watched him die right before my very own eyes."_


	5. Chapter 5

No one had words.

No one had words when he brought back the injured prisoner.

No one had words to speak when Snotlout arrived back at the fleet with the chief's long dead son in his arms.

His father was frantic and panicked, much like the rest of the fleet until they were spotted flying down to him. At first, Snotlout was bombarded with questions, but the moment Toothless landed and Hookfang landed beside him with the prisoner, it instantly went silent. As if he had landed on a ghost ship in another dimension.

Everyone's eyes had fallen on the body in Snotlout's arms – those who couldn't see from the ships further away could already tell something was wrong by the look of the Viking's face.

The first one to break the long-lost silence was when Viggo, unintentionally, wrenched over in pain. His side started to bleed again and in return he clutched it tighter.

Snotlout didn't know how his voice had suddenly returned to him, but he soon found himself yelling out with a weak and scratchy voice to get a healer for the man, and that he was to be treated well by everyone despite him being a stranger to the people. Once the healers they had were collected from the different ships and given room to the one they were at, the silence faded completely, and everyone rushed to help even if they weren't needed.

Snotlout struggled slightly to dismount the Night Fury. When he was finally down on his feet, he stumbled over slightly and fell on his knees. The weight of his cousin – although he barely looked as if he weighted more than a feather, finally reached him and so did the overwhelming feelings flood through him. It didn't take long before the world went black around him.

The last thing he could remember himself thinking, was if it really was his cousin in his arms.

A week had passed since they returned to the ship, and once Snotlout had woken up again, he had collected himself enough to explain to the captains that they had to get themselves as far away from the island as possible. It didn't matter what direction or what island.

 _They couldn't stay any longer._

The further away they sailed from the island, the less Toothless' spines glowed the electric blue it had before. No one could really tell why, but Snotlout, who was the only one who could really put it all together in a way, had an idea that it was a sign. A sign of danger.

Spitelout gave the orders to split the fleet up slightly for when he knew they were a safe distance from the supernatural island his son was so worried about. Their plan was to gather all the resources they could – all the food and water their people needed to survive on the sea any longer, and all the herbs and medicine they could find for the hardworking healers.

While the main ship was protected by two other ships, they headed in a straight line so it would be easier for the others to find them yet again. Even if they headed into unknown land, it was a risk they had to take. They needed resources fast.

Only two days earlier, the fleet had reunited on an abandoned island that they had searched thoroughly on arrival. Spitelout didn't want to take anymore risks than needed.

The night fury had never left the bedside of his rider ever since they brought him to the ship. Many Vikings were needed to push the large dragon into the room his rider was recovering in, but no one seemed to worry about how to get him out again. Their only worry was with Hiccup.

Many rumors had passed from ship to ship. The most popular one was that the Gods had rewarded them the peacekeeper for their victory at Berserker Island. Another far darker theory that only seemed to pass through the captains was that he had returned to fight another war.

Snotlout feared that if that was true, he would be sent straight back up into Valhalla once it had ended – just like the war with Drago five years earlier.

Even worse;

 _He feared that it wasn't truly his cousin inside the body. That he was just a host for the gods._

Hiccup hadn't woken up – or, his body hadn't properly processed anything. When he found him, it looked as if he had been captive for the last five years and starved the whole time with a magical force keeping him alive.

On the second day, he had slurred slightly, but he was only awake enough to take in a little broth that the healers had made for him along with settling tea. They had explained to Snotlout that they had to keep a close eye on him and that even if he did wake up in agony, it would be too risky to numb him down with too many herbs. They feared that he wasn't strong enough and that the pain-relieving drink would only be a welcoming for him to pass on to Valhalla yet again.

Viggo on the other hand was doing far better than the young Viking. His rib had poked through his skin at the impact of landing, a week ago, and due to the quick help, he was given it didn't cause any larger injuries to his body. He was given enough food and herbs to keep himself up and awake, and healing, which he was more than grateful of.

Snotlout had yet to question him further about his past since he himself had to recover as well. Both from the shock and the kick he took to the jaw. The first day, after he woke up again, he had taken the injury as if it was nothing, but since he had a soft spot for one of the younger female healers of the fleet, he couldn't help but let himself fall into bed as well and have her take care of him.

It wasn't very Viking like to give up like that, but hey? Whatever you must do to get the ladies. At least, that's what Snotlout had said to his father when he had confronted him about her to get his son's mind distracted from the boy beside him.

Toothless crooned slightly as he rested with his head on Hiccup's chest. The tip of his tongue hung slightly out of his lips and his eyes never left the lad's face. Snotlout had given up on trying to move the dragon away from his body since it usually resulted in Toothless only climbing further onto him by then. The first day, after Toothless was pushed into the room by ten Vikings, he had tried to keep the dragon away from his cousin as he was interfering with the healers' work. What happened, you may ask?

 _He crawled up on the bed and almost sat down on Hiccup's face._

Snotlout chuckled a bit at the memory. He slowly pulled out the chair beside Hiccup's bed and sat down in it. Then he just watched the two, wondering how in Thor's name he was even here before him.

Toothless cooed again. His earflaps twitched every now and then at the sounds around them. At times, he would lay them against Hiccup's chest as if reassuring himself his rider was okay. But then a thought went into his mind. Back with the Red Alpha...He had woken him up!

The Night Fury lifted his head and shook his tail excitedly. He started to lick Hiccup's chin gently before finally slobbering with his long tongue all over his face.

"Toothless!" Snotlout groaned and got up. "Don't make me pull you off him again!"

Toothless stopped and wrapped his paws tighter around the boy's frame as he was already laying on half of his body. He gave the Viking a look as if saying "Dare me."

Snotlout groaned and took off his helmet annoyed. He fell down on the chair again and watched the dragon go back to what he was doing. It wasn't until Hiccup groaned softly that he sat up properly – he almost jumped out of his chair.

Toothless shook his long tail even more at that. He licked his slightly long hair out of his face and bounced around.

The two could hear the bed creak, but neither of them cared. Snotlout went right away up to his bed and took his hand in both of his. "Hiccup?" He whispered with a raspy voice. He cleared his throat again and repeated his name, this time much clearer to lead him out of the darkness.

Slowly, but surely, his heavy eyelids opened. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. It took a few minutes of Snotlout talking gently to him and his cousin blinking, before he finally adjusted properly. His lips parted finally to take in a long-lost breath. Then...

"T-Toothless..." Hiccup whispered, staring up at the dragon before him weakly.

Snotlout swore he could have wrenched over and sobbed. He held onto his hand tighter as if fearing he would slip out of his hands at any moment.

Toothless crooned and soon smiled brightly. He licked his face even more which had Hiccup groan with a quiet laugh. The boy lifted a weak hand up to try and push him away. "C-calm...down..." he whispered, but soon groaned in pain. His hand fell again, and his back arched slightly.

A voice was talking beside him, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. It wasn't before Toothless was forcefully ripped off him and he was crowded by people that he realized they weren't fully alone. Hands roamed his body and he was suddenly moved over on his side.

Hiccup could have cried out – yelled for help, but something about Toothless being there relieved him. The only thing that seemed to unsettle him aside from the hands was the two people crouched down before him. He blinked a few times before finally lifting his hand. Something about them seemed familiar...

Spitelout rested his hand on Snotlout's shoulder as he laughed, shedding a small tear. "Stoick will be completely out of words when he sees this..."

Snotlout only laughed at that and held Hiccup's hand tighter. "Don't worry baby cousin," he assured the confused boy and wiped away one of his tears. "You're safe. No one is hurting you."

A small, relieved sigh escaped Hiccup's lips before he found his eyelids weighing down over his eyes and darkness consumed him again. The day passed on repeat. Toothless woke him up, the healers checked on him, and he dozed off again almost right away. Snotlout had to reassure him every time, since he seemed to have forgotten about the previous times he woke up.

When the night had come, and everything had calmed down – the working Vikings had gone to rest as well and only one of the healers stayed up to take care of him, Hiccup finally found himself awake and fully aware. He recognized the sleeping male resting on the chair beside him, and he, of course, recognized the dragon that begged for his attention.

One thing, he didn't recognize though, was the male on the bed beside him. He seemed...familiar in a way, but he couldn't tell at all. His mind was all fuzzy and ached when he even tried to think about him.

Toothless shook his tail excitedly as he helped Hiccup sit up in the bed. The gesture accidentally slapped Snotlout off of his chair and down on his injured jaw.

Snotlout groaned. "I swear to god reptile-!" He yelled as he sat up but cut himself off as he saw Hiccup watching him with a worried face. His eyes widened.

"H-hey...?" Hiccup chuckled unsure but had to stop since his dry throat sent him coughing. So much for the casual greeting.

"Oh Thor I'm still dreaming..." Snotlout muttered and rubbed his jaw absently as he watched him like he had seen a ghost. Which in this case, could be true?

"D-do you want me to pinch you?" Hiccup joked with a small smile. He slowly rested his hand on Toothless' head as the reptile laid his head in his lap. His fingers gently scratched the scales which soon brought his attention down to Toothless. "D-didn't I-I just bathe you..." he groaned faintly and moved his hand away again. Toothless pouted at that.

Snotlout's eyes widened more at that. He looked away for a moment before he looked at Hiccup. This time, Hiccup looked back at him as well.

"You don't...remember?" Snotlout whispered, finding himself speechless. Like his voice had disappeared in the snap of two fingers.

"R-remember what?" Hiccup shifted his position slightly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. When Snotlout said nothing, he laughed a bit uneasy. "C-come on," he encouraged him. "Don't joke around. A-are the twins behind this?" he looked around for them as if expecting they would jump out any moment now.

Snotlout gulped and sat down in the chair again. He pulled it closer to his bed and fiddled around with his fingers nervously. "Oh Thor...How am I supposed to explain this," Snotlout sighed and soon ran a hand across his face. Hiccup looked back at him.

He took a deep breath before he collected himself. Then he looked straight into his eyes. "You've been gone, Hiccup."

"Gone?" Hiccup sat up a bit more at that. He shook his head slightly and moved his hand up to rub his eyes. "No, that makes no sense..."

"Dead," Snotlout repeated. "You've been dead for five years."

Hiccup slowly stopped. His eyes wandered back to Snotlout's own eyes. There was no way...

"Do you...remember Drago?" Snotlout spoke calmly, when in reality he was anything but calm. Didn't Hiccup remember anything? Was the theory true? Please, Odin...

"Drago..." Hiccup closed his eyes for a moment, waving his hand slightly around. "Drago bloodyfist? Eh...Bloody...something..."

"Drago Bludvist," Snotlout corrected him with a nod.

"Yeah...he uh...he attacked mother's nest..." Hiccup whispered with his scratchy voice.

Snotlout soon got up. "Hang on," he went over to the door and asked one of the Vikings on guard to get him fresh water. When the Viking arrived back with the cup, he closed the door behind him and sat down on Hiccup's bedside. "Here." he helped him hold and drink it. "You'll need it."

Hiccup slowly took a sip before he nodded carefully, not really understanding what he was getting himself back into. All he knew, was that he needed it. He had to know everything.

And so Snotlout started the long story – from when they were back at the sanctuary and Drago's attack started, until the very end of his funeral. Snotlout couldn't hold back the tears, but Hiccup couldn't blame him. He was struggling as well. Everything felt so surreal.

Hiccup slowly ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. He closed his eyes. "I really don't remember anything after Toothless..." his eyes slowly opened up wide as he realized what he had said. Toothless whimpered and looked up at him with guilty eyes. "I-I didn't mean it like that," Hiccup whispered and cupped his head in his hands. He hugged it and held his best friend close.

Toothless licked his chin slightly and cooed. He closed his eyes and wrapped his wing around him. When Hiccup was sure that Toothless had calmed down, he looked back over at Snotlout. "W-what happened to Berk after that?"

"It changed. A lot," Snotlout sighed and leaned back in his chair slightly. "After the war with Drago ended and you and him disappeared, we were in a crisis. The war had affected Drago's men and switched their mind to our side, so they, of course, were warmly invited into living on Berk. The chief thought it was...well...that you would have wanted it."

Hiccup nodded slowly at that. His eyes had fallen back down at the dragon in his lap. A small smile formed on his lips at the thought. His father sure had changed a lot since the war with the reptiles ended.

"It was alright for a while, but eventually we ran out of resources and we were forced to do something about it," Snotlout explained, and Hiccup looked back up at him almost right away. They didn't get rid of them...right? Didn't his father change at all?

"Your father didn't want to send them away, but he knew it wouldn't work for much longer," Snotlout smiled slightly. "Some of Drago's men stayed on Berk, while the rest, including some of Berk's residents," He chuckled. "And my father and I, decided we'd head onto the sea and try to make a difference in the world."

Hiccup slowly looked around at that. So that explained why they were on a ship. The thought had scared Hiccup a bit at first, when Snotlout said they were running out of resources. He thought of the worst – that they had to flee Berk forever and start occupying other islands for their own good. But now it made sense...If that was the case, his parents would have been in the room by now. Astrid would have been here.

"W-what happened to Astrid?" Hiccup whispered and looked up at him. "After I..."

Snotlout sighed and sat up slightly. "She was devastated," He said truthfully. "Everyone was. It was a part of the reason why so many of us decided to head on to search the world."

He looked into his cousin's eyes. It didn't take long before his lips started to quiver, and he let out a sob. "I..." Snotlout lowered his head.

Hiccup watched him sadly. He had never seen his cousin so broken of guilt and regrets. Sure, back when they were younger he had sometimes wished to see him like this, but now he realized it was the worst you could ever wish upon another person. Snotlout had set out to continue what he had tried to do – in his memory.

 _In his honor._

"Snotlout..." Hiccup said sadly. He slowly and carefully managed to move his legs over the side of the bed. Then he finally embraced his cousin and held him tightly. Snotlout finally let his emotions out and wept into his chest, begging for his forgiveness. But Hiccup never had to say the words to him. The hug said it all.

Toothless cooed and wrapped his wing around the two to comfort them. He closed his eyes and cooed softly as he let the two hug it out.

When Snotlout finally calmed down and collected himself, he pulled back slightly and looked into Hiccup's eyes. "T-there's something I didn't tell you..." he whispered.

Hiccup pulled back slightly and looked down at his cousin. He smiled a bit to assure him it was alright. But his smile soon faded as the words left his mouth.

Viggo's eyes slowly opened.

" _You have a son."_

Toothless roared slightly as Hiccup fainted back against him. He whined and held him up by his snout before he swatted Snotlout across his face three times with his tail. He hissed at him.

"O-oh come on!" Snotlout groaned and held his pink cheeks while glaring at the dragon. "I didn't do anything wrong! He had to know!"

Toothless grumbled and mocked him by making different sounds. He gently laid him down in the bed with Snotlout's help and without the Viking even bothering to protest, he laid down on him like a bird protected its eggs.

Snotlout threw his arms up in defeat and got up. "Get me when he wakes up..." he murmured and went out to get some fresh air.

Viggo quietly turned over to look at the Viking beside him. The dragon sure was protective. Slowly, his eyes fell on the wooden ceiling while he processed everything he heard.

 _The young heir had a son he didn't even know about._

 **Helluu!**

 **I hoped you liked the chapter 3**

 **I've decided for the book that I will try to include most of the characters from the series as you saw in this chapter. (not that it is necessarily a good thing lol)**

 **I mean, come on.**

 **Snotlout needs sum love too!**

 **I would love to hear - what do you think will happen next?**

 **And do you prefer it this way too?**

 **I felt like Escape was a bit bland when it came to the characters and how they affected the story. They were kinda...just muppets lol!**


	6. Chapter 6

It didn't take long before the young lad woke up again and Toothless slapped the door with his tail.

Hiccup groaned slightly as he held his head. What happened?

Toothless cooed and nudged him gently with his snout. He shook his tail carefully as he watched his human. "H-hey buddy..." Hiccup chuckled slightly and rubbed his eyes. Slowly, the conversation with Snotlout got back into his head. His eyes fell on the ceiling.

 _He had a son._

 _He has a son._

Snotlout slowly walked inside. He scanned the room real quick, taking into consideration that Viggo could be awake now, before he walked up to his cousin's bed. He slowly sat down on his bedside and looked down at him, still not used to the fact that he was right before him.

"S-so...that...makes me a father..." Hiccup whispered, still staring up at the ceiling. "I'm...a father...like my father-I have a son," he murmured.

Toothless tilted his head. He cooed and looked over at Snotlout.

"He should be five years pretty soon," Snotlout nodded. "I don't really know anything more."

Hiccup moved his arm over his eyes and swallowed. Did Astrid ever try to tell him? He couldn't recall...It wouldn't be an Astrid thing to do right away, right? She would keep it in until...No.

 _She did_ _try to tell him._

"T-that day..." Hiccup whispered, his eyes filling with tears. "Before the blast...I didn't listen."

Snotlout watched him sadly. He couldn't even begin to imagine what he was going through.

"A-and now..." Hiccup bit his lip tightly. Snotlout could see how he was trying his best to not cry out – to not show weakness. Even though he was so ready to break down. "He's grown up without me."

"It's not your fault," Snotlout reassured him. "There was nothing you could have done-"

"I could have," Hiccup looked over at him in tears. He slammed his fist down on the hard, wooden bed and tried to move over on his side, so he could sit up. Both Snotlout and Toothless flinched at the move but did nothing to stop or help him. "I-If I didn't try to convince Drago, none of this would have happened!"

Snotlout bit his lip. "B-but if you didn't, the peace we knew of would have been long gone," He cut his cousin off before he could beat himself up any further. This had Hiccup stop and look at him. "If you didn't try to stop Drago, he would have used the dragons to kill Berk," he said seriously, looking straight into his eyes. "It was a big risk – a big sacrifice, but...In the end...It paid off," he sighed. "Although I hate to admit it, and that I hate the outcome as well...You did the right thing."

Hiccup gritted his teeth, looking at him with deep regret and sorrow. He slowly moved over again on his back and ran his hand through his long locks of auburn hair.

 _"Then why doesn't it feel that way?"_

Freya smiled warmly as she greeted the overprotective reptile by Hiccup's bed. "Good morning, you cutie!" She giggled and rubbed his snout. "Will you let me take care of your rider? To make sure he's alright?"

Toothless cooed slightly. His nostrils twitched and took in her scent before he finally loosened his protective tail from his rider.

"Oh come on," Snotlout groaned faintly. "How come you trust her and not me?"

Toothless glared his way and raised his tail. Snotlout lifted his hands right away and zipped up his mouth.

Hiccup chuckled faintly and slowly sat up. "I guess you should expect that from someone whose name is Freya," he smiled and carefully moved his legs over the edge.

Freya blushed at that. "Finally, someone understands!" She joked, making it very obvious that she was referring to Snotlout's ignorance as well.

"Not fair..." Snotlout muttered.

Toothless watched Freya carefully. The one thing he admired and trusted about the woman, was that she didn't seem to fear him at all – even though he had treated her no different than Snotlout in the first few days.

Hiccup rested his hands in his lap and leaned forward slightly so she could have a look at the large burn mark that was left on his back. His ribs were still unhealthily visible and so was his spine, but he was on the right path. At least, that was what Freya assured him.

As she took care of her normal routine, Hiccup looked over at the male who rested in the bed before him. As if sensing Hiccup's intense stare, Viggo slowly opened his eyes. Freya only first pulled back when Hiccup tensed up, thinking it was because of her.

"All good?" Freya cooed and looked over his shoulder.

Hiccup merely nodded, and she continued. He watched the man slowly sit up in bed, despite Freya's protesting, while clutching his side. Her charm didn't really seem to strike through to him, although Hiccup was sure it was more because of her than the him. She didn't seem particularly interested in the stranger.

"I-I haven't gotten the chance to properly introduce myself," Viggo spoke softly. He bowed his head slightly. "I am Viggo Grimborn. I was the one who found you."

Hiccup eyed him carefully. The air suddenly feeling tenser than his own body. "I heard." Hiccup's eyes fell on his bandages. "What happened?

Viggo slowly lifted his head again. He looked up at Snotlout, who nodded, before he looked back at the man before him and started to explain everything – from when his leader banished him and until he led Snotlout to where he had hidden Hiccup for his own safety.

"You're a miracle boy," Viggo chuckled lightly. "Or so, I've heard."

Hiccup relaxed and let out a small chuckle as well. "I guess in a way." He slowly moved his hand out for him. "Thank you. For saving my life."

Viggo grabbed his forearm and held it tightly which Hiccup returned in a weaker grip since he had yet to regain his muscles and strength. "It's what a brother should do to one another," Viggo nodded at him before the two broke apart. "I'm quite honored and relieved. That I managed to do something good," he chuckled. "I never would have imagined you to be the famous dragon master when I first saw you."

Hiccup laughed and ran a hand across his face. "Do I really look that horrible?"

Freya shrugged. "I think you look pretty handsome still."

"Oh come on!" Snotlout groaned. And now his crush was hitting on his cousin? Why did he always get the ladies...?

"Could use a hair cut though," Hiccup chuckled at Freya's comment, seeing past the small flirt. He moved his hair back, only for it to fall in front of his eyes again.

"I think I could get used to it," He joked before he looked up at Freya whose hand started to feel around in his hair.

"Hm..." Freya hummed as she thought. She took out a tie from her bag before she started to pull his hair back into the typical, chief hairstyle – or as his father had his in control. With a playful smile, she made a braid as well. "This should work!" She hummed satisfied and pulled back when she was done.

Toothless and Snotlout peeked at his hair before tilting his head. It didn't look that bad.

"It's only temporarily, though," Hiccup warned them before he was gently pushed down on the bed again by Freya. He rested his hand behind his head and relaxed.

 _"We'll see about that~"_

"Uncle Eret!" A little boy squealed as he ran ahead of his mother and jumped onto the man's leg as he talked with a villager. Eret's gaze fell on him and he soon laughed. He scooped the boy up in his arms and held him up high. The little boy squealed at that and held his stuffed dragon as he couldn't stop giggling.

Astrid smiled as she walked up to them. "Don't be too flattered," she laughed. "He calls everyone uncle. Even Ruffnut."

Eret pouted playfully, but soon pulled the boy close and held him at his hip. "So, what has the handsome little lad been up to now?" He hummed and played a bit with his stuffed dragon.

Aiden giggled and held it up to his mouth to stifle the joyful laughs. "Mo-mommy and I flew today!" He giggled and gestured with his arms, way up above Eret's head.

Eret laughed at that. "Yeah, I thought I saw you up there flying like a pro!"

Aiden's eyes lit up at that. He had watched them?

Astrid smiled and watched Eret set the little boy down. It didn't take long before the red-haired lad ran off to the house next of them where _uncle_ Fishlegs was stepping out of his home. Her gaze followed the boy for a bit, before she finally looked up at Eret and the two started to walk together.

"So," Eret smiled down at her, resting his hand on his hip. "How have you been lately? I didn't see you yesterday."

"Oh, Valka wanted to show us something," Astrid waved it off with a smile. "I'm doing better. Quite surprisingly, to be honest."

Eret rested his hand on her shoulders and rubbed them reassuringly. "You're a strong woman," He chuckled. "I know for sure if I had to raise a child myself I would have failed already on the first day!"

Astrid laughed at that and looked away to watch Aiden's friends, Garth and Eric, run in the direction of her son's squeals – their dragons clumsily following. "I'm not raising him alone," She smiled and looked up at Eret again. "I'm receiving a lot of help. You should know that," she chuckled.

A month had passed since the talk with the Chief, and during that time she had settled surprisingly quickly on trying to move on. It helped her a little more to leave most of Hiccup's belongings at home. As for the ring...She kept it in her pouch. But no one knew that besides herself.

Eret and Astrid had spent a lot more time together the last few weeks as well. For the two first weeks, they were almost inseparable. Eret always snuck off to see how she was doing, and Astrid gladly accepted his concern – not really thinking it would ever lead to something more serious.

In a way, it hadn't. The two were just closer friends by now – the only thing that was different from before was the fact that Astrid had finally opened up to the people around her. And Eret was one of them.

Eret had opened up as well, in his own dramatic way. He wasn't very popular around the Village when it came to his story about his father and, well, his ancestry, but Astrid didn't mind. She found it a good way to distract herself as it seemed to be one of the rare conversations that didn't involve her deceased boyfriend.

Stoick's request to the people about banning them from talking about his son didn't go as planned. While most avoided the topic in fear of the chief's reaction, some stayed loyal to the man and understood what affect it had on the young mother and child.

"Well, I do try to make myself of use around here," Eret chuckled and walked with her.

"You're pretty good at it," Astrid smiled and looked ahead of them as they walked. They soon stopped as they came to a Viking's hut where some of the elder women were making clothes out of Berk's wool production.

Before Eret could sneak off, since he wasn't very fancy of trying clothes, Astrid pulled him into the shop with a laugh. "Trust me," she smiled. "I didn't like it at first either. But it's a whole new story when it comes to clothes for Aiden."

Eret chuckled and rubbed his neck. "Alright," he said in defeat and followed her inside. Astrid led him to Brynhild. She greeted the older woman politely along with the rest of the Vikings working and talking in the room.

"I see you're back so soon!" Brynhild laughed faintly and carefully got up from the chair she sat in. She laid the little ball of wool down in one of the straw baskets.

"Well, Aiden is growing fast," Astrid smiled and watched her. "I would have brought him with to prove it, but he's off exploring with Uncle Fishlegs."

Another Viking, Ingrid, laughed at that. "Is he still calling everyone uncle?"

Astrid nodded, biting her lip for a moment before smiling even more. "Even Ruffnut."

The Vikings laughed in unison at that.

"I hope he never changes," Eret admitted and Brynhild agreed as she slowly walked over to one of the bigger baskets at the end of the room.

"He creates a lot of life around the town," Brynhild smiled and shared a glance at the two for a small moment. "You two have been good parents!"

Eret and Astrid's cheeks went deep red at that. "E-eh we...I-we're not-

"Stupid Brynhild!" Ingrid scolded her with a faint laugh. "You're mixing them up again."

"Oh..." Brynhild rubbed her forehead for a moment before she went back to searching in the basket.

Sigrid rolled her eyes playfully. She was one of the slightly younger ladies who were making sure everyone had both enough clothes and good customer service. Normally, she would walk around and deliver out the clothes the Berkians had ordered, but now that winter was coming, Astrid didn't have the heart to trouble her with that. Besides, it wasn't a horrible thing to come down and chat with them every now and then.

Valka would sometimes bring her down with her as well, even if they didn't need clothes. She wanted her to learn the basics of being a housewife in the village – although Astrid would prefer not to. She did fall in love with it after some time, but nothing could truly replace her dedication for her axe skills.

"They are in the other basket," Sigrid smiled and laid what she was working on down in the chair after she stood up. She went over to the older lady, gently rested her hand on her back before searching through the baskets together with her and finding the new clothes they made for the chief's grandson.

"You know," Ingrid smiled up at the two while they fetched some other stuff as well. Astrid and Eret, still embarrassed, looked over at her. "Aiden isn't too bad at this either! Last time Valka brought him here he made this," She smiled and pulled out a little piece of wool that was braided together three times. She gave it to Astrid with her shaky, old hand and gently curled it into her grip.

Astrid smiled and held it at her heart. "He does have a lot from his father's side," She smiled sadly and held it closer.

Ingrid smiled and nodded at that. "Is he still learning from the blacksmith?"

Astrid laughed faintly. "At times, yeah. But his concentration doesn't last for very long."

Eret laughed at that. "That's true. I saw he was trying his best to take orders from the customers like old Gobber had taught him. The next moment he ran off with his little dragon to play with a flower!"

Astrid giggled at that.

Sigrid gently helped Brynhild sit down in her chair again and showed her where she left off. Then she walked up to Astrid and Eret with a smile. "Here you go." She showed her everything from the little, fluffy and warm socks, to the warm fur vest they had sown together. "I made some clothes for his dragon too," She hummed and laid a small piece of clothing on top of the pile in Astrid's arms.

Eret was too distracted by the size of the tiny socks to even see.

Astrid laughed. "You've overdone yourself, Sigrid," She bowed gratefully and held it all close. "He was really worried his dragon would freeze last winter!"

"So I heard," Sigrid smiled and gently rubbed her shoulder. "Take care you two and give Aiden a good hug from us all!"

Astrid smiled and turned with a nod. "I will!" She cooed before she dragged the mesmerized Eret out of the shop with her. When she finally noticed, she laughed and took them out of his hands. "Be careful. They are pretty delicate."

Eret blushed a bit embarrassed and rested his hands on his back. "Sorry," he chuckled and looked at the little sweater that was made for Aiden's stuffed dragon. "Do you...think he'll ever have a dragon himself?"

Astrid looked down at it for a small moment. "I honestly don't know," She chuckled faintly. "I would love for him to have one, so I know for sure he's safe, but...I don't want to push him. He's still dealing with the fact that he doesn't have a father like most Vikings do."

Eret bit his lip slightly at that. He slowly took Astrid's forearm in hers which had the beautiful lady look up at him. "I was...going to talk to you about that."

Astrid looked into his eyes, a bit curious. She seemed to know where it was going. "Yeah?"

Eret blushed faintly. He looked away from her mesmerizing eyes for a short moment before looking back into them. He took a deep breath before he suggested, "What if I step in for now?"

Astrid slowly took in the information. "Step in...to be his father?"

Eret nodded, looking into her eyes nervously. He soon started to ramble more than he wished to. "I mean-I-It doesn't have to go any far-I just ah...I just thought-well, Aiden could use a father figure and-Not that I'm the best! But...Its something! At least, until you find yourself a real man."

Astrid couldn't help but smile as she listened. Did every man ramble to a woman when they were nervous? Or was it just something Eret and...him had in common? Suddenly feeling a bit playful, she slowly moved out of his grip and kept walking with a hum. "Who said you're not a real man~?"

Eret's eyes widened at that. He grinned after her and jogged up beside her to catch up to her.

Snotlout slowly walked up to his cousin as he stood at the very front of the ship – looking out over the horizon. They had decided shortly after Hiccup felt better, that they would head back to Berk to visit his family again. Snotlout, of course, who thought it was a bad idea, had suggested that they stayed and took a closer look at the island.

However, he seemed to be the only one who had a bad feeling of the place. Him and Viggo, of course, and most likely the dragons too. The only problem with the dragons was that Toothless was loyal to Hiccup's decisions (and overly happy, like everyone else, that he was back) and his own dragon was more loyal to the alpha than his own rider.

Maybe it was for the better though, Snotlout began to think. No one seemed to be able to keep their minds straight – only himself and Viggo, whom he was still very cautious about despite his convincing backstory.

The main part that was driving them back towards Berk wasn't the fact that a new problem – possibly a new war, had come up and they needed backup and better minds to understand it. It was far from that. The main part was that Hiccup feared he wouldn't be around for long. No one knew why he was back – the dragons perhaps understood, but they couldn't talk after all.

The same night as Hiccup had found out he had a son, had triggered the cause first, and Snotlout fully understood why. His mother hadn't been present in his life for 20 years, even though she had the possibility to – and now he had a son, who had been raised without him for five years, who he finally had a chance to meet.

Snotlout still tried to warn Hiccup though. Since he was in his right mind – at least more than his cousin and anyone else, he had suggested that they stayed and researched the island mostly because it would leave Berk bigger scars seeing Hiccup return for only a few days and suddenly disappear again. It would especially affect his son, something Hiccup didn't quite see yet.

Spitelout wasn't on either side since he was still overwhelmed by the fact that the heir had returned from the dead. He wasn't exactly very present when it came to be planning and discussing – much like the rest of the captains. But he did his best – both because he was expected to as the leader, but also since he was a father himself.

Nevertheless, there they were, sailing straight back into the Archipelago. By their calculation, they wouldn't arrive before another week either.

Snotlout was a bit relieved that Hiccup didn't set off and fly ahead to Berk on Toothless' back. Even though it had been roughly a month since he was found, he was still very weak. His body still had to recover – and Hiccup understood that as well. He didn't exactly want to scare the residents of Berk with his skeleton like frame after all.

"How are you doing?" Snotlout asked as he stopped beside his cousin. The Night Fury laid curled up beside his cousin, enjoying the sunlight and the cold breeze.

Hiccup tore his eyes away from the horizon for a moment and smiled. "Surprisingly well," he chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. It only took a day or two before he was about to go crazy due to the long locks. The pain from having his hair pulled back in a tie all day wasn't something he fancied at night. "The sun is shining, the birds are chirping," he joked.

Snotlout rolled his eyes faintly. "At least you didn't lose that dramatic part of yourself," he muttered and looked up at his cousin for a moment. He looked a lot healthier – but he still had a way to recover. Without Toothless' help, he was dependent on a crutch to keep himself up – which he preferred rather than having a Viking, or Snotlout, carry him around when he wanted fresh air. Aside from that, the color had returned to his skin and his cheekbones didn't poke out as much as they did before. He finally looked like his usual fish-bony self.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Hiccup laughed.

"I honestly don't know," Snotlout chuckled and shook his head before he looked up at the horizon again. He sighed and took in the fresh air of the salty ocean. "Aside from the good morning, how are you holding up?"

This time, it was Hiccup's time to sigh. He was silent for a bit before he said, "I honestly don't know. It's amazing to think that...I'm a father," He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Carefully, he slowly used his crutch to sit himself down on the steps of the ship. Snotlout followed shortly after and watched the fleet behind them and the hard-working men. "But it's also quite scary."

"I could only imagine," Snotlout nodded.

"Do you...think he'll want to meet me?" Hiccup slowly looked at Snotlout. "And...if he understands?"

Snotlout looked down at his hands. "I don't know, to tell you the truth," He chuckled. "But I'm sure if we do really have a lot of time, he'll surely open up to you quickly. He's still pretty young after all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Hiccup sighed and leaned back on his arm. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sun for a bit, but soon chuckled. "It doesn't feel like he's really young if he's five."

Snotlout laughed at that. "True," he nodded and rubbed his arms. "But who knows? Maybe you'll be surprised."

Hiccup smiled at that. He kept his eyes closed and started to picture everything in his head – what he would say, how everyone would react.

 _"I don't think I'll be the only one surprised."_


	7. Chapter 7

"Oy, _lad_!"

Gobber laughed faintly and moved the heavy axe before it fell down on Aiden's leg instead of into the tiny boy's arms. "Haven't I taught you any better?" He chuckled and threw it back up on another table, almost hitting a small terrible terror which he paid no mind to.

Aiden blushed and whined. "I-I wanna play!"

"Those are not for games," Gobber smiled and shook his head. He took the wooden axe down from the table and handed it to him with his hook. "You'll do better with this."

Aiden made a face as he felt the light, not so deadly, weapon in his arms. "But..."

"Ah, ah," Gobber shook his head. "I know your friends already have weapons, but those were gifted to them."

Aiden looked down at the wooden object in his arms. "Mommy never gave me anything..."

Gobber sighed and switched his amputee into his brush. When the small click went off, and the attachment was secured, he leaned back against the table, wondering why he was always left to fix the family issues of the Haddock clan.

Aiden sniffled and his eyes soon filled up with tears. He looked up at Gobber, biting his lip to not start crying. He had learned by his friends that crying meant weakness...

Gobber brushed his mustache absently as he was in his own thoughts – wondering what the next problem he had to deal with would be. He was soon broken out of his own imagination as he heard the little boy hold back a small sob. "Lad..." Gobber sighed, realizing what he was thinking about. "It has nothing to do with your father not being here," he said and carefully kneeled down to him.

"B-but mama..."

"No," Gobber shook his head. "It's...well, partly her fault, but you see," He chuckled. "I was always the one who made the weapons for the kids of Berk."

Aiden slowly looked up at him and suddenly it was easier for him to calm down. Gobber was going to tell him a story!

Gobber chuckled lightly as he noticed he had earned his attention, and then continued. "Your Grandma didn't want to make one for your father, because of how tiny he was at birth!" He smiled and slowly stood up again to take care of his untamed hair again. As he investigated the mirror before him, he heard a few footsteps and a few things fall. "She didn't doubt that the clumsiness of herself went through to him either," He laughed and soon looked over at the boy who now sat in between the pile of weapons on the table. Some of the rusty knives laid on the floor below his small feet.

"As unvikingish as it sounds," Gobber smiled and pointed his brush at the little dragon who was halfway tucked into Aiden's shirt. Aiden looked down at it and held it closer. "She didn't want him to bear a weapon. She wanted him to have the little dragon instead."

Aiden cooed in awe. He never heard that story before – only that it belonged to his father once.

"She sat up day and night, wondering what dragon to give him," Gobber hummed and started to make up a story to keep him entertained until his mother would return from her contribution at the Great Hall. They were planning to expand Berk a bit further together with brainstorming new buildings – something Gobber of course wished he was a part of since he was crucial to the construction part. Not that he minded a day off though – since the chief had thrown a pile of work at him the days before.

"Do you know what dragon that is?" Gobber smiled and changed his prosthetic again after he was satisfied with his slightly more settling look. He replaced it with his hook and closed the shop for the day.

Aiden took it out of his shirt and looked down at it. He bit his lip and soon held it up excitedly. "Mo-mommy has one! S-Stormi!"

"She does," Gobber laughed at that. "But that's not quite right."

Aiden's smile soon fell.

"It's a Nadder," Gobber hummed and immediately got his interest again. He had tried to teach him a few things here and there so he wouldn't be too frightened by the dragons living among them – as wild as they could get at times.

"Nad-Nadder," Aiden cooed and looked at the dragon. His eyes moved back up at the Viking as he continued talking.

"Aye," Gobber nodded. "I assume she saw something different in the dragons back then," He hummed. "Maybe she did indeed see their playful side and hoped he would be as playful as them one day.

Aiden gently, but clumsily, stroked the dragon's head. "Did-did he?"

Gobber hesitated. "Well...In a way," he nodded and leaned down to pick up the knives from the ground while holding his trousers up with his hook. "He was very adventurous, like you are! There's no doubt about that!" He laughed. "He would often go into the woods and hunt for trolls! Your grandpa and I searched for hours and found him with most of the towns socks in a trail!" He scratched his chin with one of the knives. "I still wonder how he got them all."

Aiden cooed in awe. Trolls existed? His grandpa said they didn't, but uncle Gobber... His smile soon brightened. "Tro-Trolls!" He squealed and held his dragon up high.

Fishlegs walked up to them with a laugh. Meatlug following short on his tail. "What did you teach him now?"

Gobber looked up and over at him with an awkward smile. He rubbed his forehead with his hook. "Probably nothing too good again."

"Astrid will murder you," Fishlegs laughed and watched the little boy squeal, struggle a bit to climb down from the table, and then sprint over to him. He hugged the little boy.

"U-Uncle Fishy!" Aiden smiled brightly and tugged at his coat. He tried to pull him towards the forest. "H-hunt!"

"You want to go hunting?" Fishlegs chuckled nervously. Meatlug sounded concerned too since neither of them were that much of a fan of the wild. "I don't know..."

Aiden wiggled off his boots and took off his socks. "Fo-for trolls!" He held them up with a smile.

Gobber walked up beside him and gently tugged them out of his hands. "You'll get sick, lad," He chuckled and set him on his knee. He helped him put them on but stopped as he was about to do the left one. "They only do the left socks," He whispered and wiggled his eyebrows.

Fishlegs crossed his arms and cleared his throat.

Aiden looked at it. "Left..." he tugged at his toes after he put it on. Left. That was a word he was getting familiar with. Gobber had lost his _left_ hand. The famous Night Fury had lost his _left_ tail fin. His father had lost his _left_ leg.

Was _left_ never for a good cause? Was it...always a bait? Like the sock inbetween his little fingers? He slowly pulled his hand away and cooed, looking up as his mother stepped forward. She started scolding the older man for letting him walk without his boots in late winter, but Aiden paid no mind. He was looking from his left to his right. Maybe if he gave them his right sock...they would become friends? And the trolls wouldn't see it as food!

 _That was it!_

Aiden jumped off his knee and into his mother's arm. "Mommy! Mommy!" He tugged at her skirt and looked up at her.

"What is it, dear?" Astrid laughed and ran her fingers through his red locks.

"We-we need socks!" Aiden cooed and jumped up and down in her arms. "I-I wanna befriend Trolls!"

Astrid rolled her eyes playfully and shot Gobber a glare before she took his hand. "Let's go see what we have at home, and then we can go out and search."

Aiden's eyes lit up and he smiled brightly. "Bye Uncle Fishy and Un-uncle Gobbi!" He squealed, waved, and then ran ahead and to their house with Astrid jogging after him. On the way, Eret jogged up beside Astrid with a laugh.

"Are you running away from me?" He joked and followed her up the last steps to the house. Astrid merely rolled her eyes, looked over at Aiden who was about to tear the door open with his small, excited hands, and called,

"I'll wait here!" She smiled and turned to Eret. "Gobber told him about his Troll adventures," She chuckled and fixed her braid slightly.

"Ahh, I see," Eret laughed and moved some hair out of her face. "So...now we'll have to go on an adventure too, hm?"

Astrid blushed faintly. "Well...You don't have to come with – it shouldn't take long before he'll get too tired."

This time it was Eret's time to roll his eyes and cross his arms. "Didn't we agree that he needs a fatherly figure?" He hummed. "And what kind of father wouldn't join his son on an adventure like this?" He laughed and called for his dragon, Sailback, with a whistle.

It didn't take long before a purple and red Thunderclaw flew over to his side and rubbed against his hand. It was one of the many dragons that escaped Valka's Sanctuary and fled to live on Berk under the new alpha, but after he left as well, it freely roamed and would sometimes head off for a day or two. Eret was never worried though – he knew a lady would need their own time.

Astrid smiled and watched as Stormfly landed beside her. She rubbed her snout gently. "I guess you're right," she smiled over at Eret for a moment before looking back at her dragon.

Eret sighed as he realized he had hit a bad subject with her again. "I didn't mean he..."

Astrid shook her head. "I know," She smiled over at him reassuringly and looked up as Aiden ran out of the door with Valka holding it open for him. He had a pile of his socks and hers in his small arms.

"Uncle!" Aiden giggled happily and stumbled down to them clumsily. "Look!" he held up the pile of socks which had the man laugh and ruffle his hair.

"Are you ready to find some trolls?" Eret hummed.

Aiden giggled and nodded violently. "I-I wanna be friend with trolls!"

"Let's put them up here," Astrid said and took the socks out of his arms. She neatly put them into the saddle bag on Stormfly before she helped him get up and hoisted herself up behind him. Valka walked up between the two dragons.

"Be careful out there," Valka smiled and watched Astrid secure the little boy. "Some Vikings reported a high activity of wolves and boars. You don't want to get in their way."

Eret grinned and showed off his muscles. "Don't worry. I'll protect them with these bad boys!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "As if," She laughed. "You'll probably run off screaming like a girl!"

"I will not!" Eret pouted at her before climbing up in his saddle.

"Right," Astrid challenged him and looked at Valka. "We'll be back soon," She smiled and moved closer to Aiden. "I'll see if we can spot them and chase them away from the village if they get too close."

Valka nodded and smiled. "Have fun," she hummed and waved as the trio flew off, Aiden's giggles echoing through the air.

Hiccup sighed as he rubbed Toothless' scales absently with a brush. He still couldn't wrap the thought around himself. The fact that he had a son who had grown up without him in his life and the fact that he might not even have the time to go meet him.

He slowly turned his head to Snotlout who was giving orders around to the crew and making sure everything ran smoothly. They had moved towards Berk since about a week, but they still hadn't seen Berk on the horizon. Snotlout assured him it was due to the fact that the wind wasn't properly with them, but also because the crew was exhausted.

When Snotlout's eyes fell on him, he knew he sensed what he was about to ask him. The smaller Viking walked towards him with a sigh. "We're not there yet," He shook his head.

Hiccup sighed and leaned against Toothless' scales, resting his forehead against his arm. "Maybe returning was a bad idea..."

Snotlout's eyes widened faintly, before they softened. "Hiccup..."

Hiccup shook his head and straightened up, sucking in the fact that they were doing it right now – that they had made the decision and that Berk was right around the corner.

Snotlout watched his cousin quietly rub the dirty scales of the Night Fury before he finally spoke, "I don't think there's a way for us to turn back now," He chuckled faintly. "Not without the crew slaughtering us both for changing our minds."

Hiccup shuddered at the thought. The last thing he wanted to be concerned about was the Vikings around them going crazy. No one had really gotten much rest since they were still discussing Hiccup's return and rowing the boat half of the time. It was a good thing they were Vikings though. If they had been romans, the boat would probably spend more than a month to return.

Hiccup slowly stopped brushing Toothless, who cooed in confusion. The picture of his son – who he had tried to imagine in his head the best he could from both Snotlout's and Spitelout's description of the newborn they had seen before fleeing. It kept reappearing in his head ever since they decided to head to Berk – he imagined what he was like, how he looked, how much he resembled his mother, and if he would like him.

The last one was the biggest concern of himself. In his teens, he had stopped caring too much about what other's thought of him – he knew they thought a lot of things, good and bad, before and after the Red Death. He still didn't think highly of it, unless it became a problem he had to deal with, but now? It was his own son, who probably wouldn't understand why he hadn't returned earlier.

 _Hiccup didn't even understand why._

And now, he had to appear in his life? For how long? He didn't even know if he had done the right thing, but he felt as if he had. At least that's what he told himself a week ago. Now, with the worry washed all over him, he couldn't think clearly anymore – of what was right and what was wrong.

"I can only imagine he'll be a lot like you," Snotlout chuckled slightly and looked out over the horizon. Hiccup slowly looked over at his cousin. "Adventerous, clumsy, scrawny," he joked.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Why thank you. That really settles my worries," he muttered.

Snotlout laughed. "What do you think he'll be like?" he looked over at him.

Hiccup looked into his eyes for a moment before he looked down at the brush in his hand again. "I..." he sighed. "I _hope_ he'll be a lot like me and Astrid – maybe more like Astrid so he's not the screw up in the village."

Snotlout laughed at that. "I doubt he'll be anything like that. The village lined up all day to get a peak at the little boy and wish him the best of luck when he was first born," He smiled up at him. "The elders blessed him with wealth and fortune for his whole life – despite him being so fragile at birth. He was quite popular, to say the least."

Hiccup slowly started to brush the scales before him again, feeling himself get more nervous. Did that mean he was more like Astrid? She had been blessed well in her life – it did definitely not come from his side although that did relieve him slightly.

"Now, I didn't ask for what you _hoped_ for," Snotlout said and leaned against the edge of the ship, his arms folded over his chest. "I asked what you _thought_ he'd be like."

"Wow, you know the difference," Hiccup muttered slightly, which Snotlout whined playfully at. "I think he'll be a lot like Astrid. He'll be smart, strong and...incredibly beautiful," he laughed. "If he does have anything from my side, I sure hope it's not my desire for danger."

Snotlout nodded in agreement at that. "Yeah, him being scrawny would probably benefit him more."

Hiccup glared at him together with Toothless.

Snotlout raised his hands in the air. "Please don't slap me!" He whined, mainly to Toothless who just grumbled back at him and decided he wanted to go back to sleep.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and kept rubbing his scales with the brush. He soon leaned a bit more on the dragon, holding his side. His eyelids started to feel heavy again – the stress wasn't going easy on his healing body.

Snotlout's eyebrows furrowed at that. He stepped up to him and rested his hand on his back. "I think we should get you back in bed," He said and took the brush out of his hand before he could protest. " _I_ will take care of his dirty scales," He assured him.

 _"It's something I should have done a long time ago."_

Aiden cooed as he looked to the forest below them. The snow coated the pine trees beautifully and he wanted nothing else but to touch them and watch the fluffy snow fall. Winter was his favorite season – there was no doubt, although it was almost always winter on Berk throughout the year.

He wondered – did the trolls get cold during winter? Was that why they took everyone's socks?

Slowly, while Astrid was talking with Eret, he pulled out a sock from the bag and slowly let go of it. His big green eyes watched fascinated as it fell to the trees below. The way it flew – the way it rode the wind entertained him so much he kept pulling out the socks, one by one, and watched them fall.

It wasn't before Aiden was long done with throwing the socks out, that Eret and Astrid broke from their conversation and finally flew down to Raven's point and landed there.

Aiden giggled as he was swooped into Eret's arms and set on the ground. He ran to the nearest bush he could see and shook it violently, squealing even more as the snow flew in every direction.

Eret laughed. "He's really crazy about snow."

Astrid smiled and undid the tie on the saddle bag. "I think it's partly because its so-

"Floffy!" Aiden giggled and fell down in a pile of snow. He wiggled around happily.

Astrid closed her mouth and grinned at Eret who laughed back at her and nodded. She soon realized how light the bag was and opened it. "Eh...Where are the socks?"

Eret looked over at her confused. He peeked into the bag. "Now would you look at that..." he laughed. "I think we have a thief among us~"

Aiden lifted his head at that, realizing they were talking about him. He giggled and tried to hid his laughs in the now snow, soaked dragon before he ran into one of the bushes and hid there.

Eret crossed his arms with a grin. He gave Astrid a look and soon walked around with a loud hum. "I wonder where he could have gone..."

Beside him, in the bushes Aiden had ran into, Eret could hear silent giggles and small footsteps. Eret pretended for a little more before he finally snatched the boy out of the bushes and lifted him up high. "There he is!" He laughed and the boy whined, but couldn't stop laughing either. "Astrid, I caught the thief!"

Astrid rolled her eyes with a smile before she walked towards them. "Now what should we do with him~?" She hummed and ran her finger across the boy's chin with an evil smile.

Eret grinned. "I know exactly what!" He lifted him up on his shoulder and soon held him upside down while shaking him slightly. Aiden giggled and squirmed around until his face went red. "Where did you hide the socks, thief?!"

"N-noo!" Aiden squealed and tried to wiggle out of his grip. Eret soon lifted him back up and held him at his hip. He checked his pockets and vest while the boy kept trying to get his breath back between the laughs.

"Maybe they fell out," Astrid laughed and moved closer so she could ruffle the snow out of the boy's hair. "We weren't exactly paying too much attention to it," She smiled and looked up at Eret who had gone silent. She soon realized why.

 _She could feel his hot breath softly against her own lips._

Their faces almost brushed against one another and their eyes never left each other. She first broke the gaze and when she did, her eyes fell on his lips. They were a bit rough, but at the same time they seemed so soft.

Eret slowly lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. At the movement, she slowly looked back into his eyes. Was this what she wanted? To spend the rest of her life by his side?

Astrid pulled away hesitantly and looked over at Aiden. He was watching them both curiously, sucking slightly on the stuffed dragon's horn. She knew Aiden needed a father – and she knew she needed someone as well. But was Eret the one?

"W-what about...Ruffnut?" Astrid sighed and closed her eyes. "Don't you have something going on with her too?"

Astrid could feel him chuckle more than she could hear it. "She's too involved with her brother," He shook his head. "I don't see a future together with her," he whispered and slowly lifted her chin with his finger. Astrid finally opened her eyes again, a tear falling from her eye. She looked into his. "But I see a future with you," he whispered, gently stroking her chin.

Astrid bit her lip tightly as they started to quiver. She looked over at Aiden again, but Eret hushed her and moved her attention back to him.

"Please," Eret whispered. "Don't make this happen only because of him."

"I-I..." Astrid finally let go of her lip and as she did, it felt like she let go of everything – of the concern of Aiden's future and of his deceased father. She tiptoed up and pressed her lips against his, finally closing her eyes and letting the tears fall.

Eret caressed her cheek and gently wiped away the tears. He closed his eyes and kissed her back lovingly, making sure she could feel what he was offering her – what he was offering them both.

After some time, Astrid pulled away and smiled sadly up at him. He wiped away her tears and kissed her head. "We'll adapt," he whispered. "Alright?"

Astrid nodded and wiped away more tears from her eyes. "Y-yeah," She smiled and slowly took Aiden into her arms. As she did, it almost felt as if the whole presence of Hiccup – that was once so obvious in her son, had finally disappeared.

Stormfly suddenly started to squawk and flap her wings. She looked around, her eyes turning rounder and it didn't take long before she started to bounce around.

Astrid pulled away from Eret confused and looked up at her. "Girl, what's wrong?" She lifted her hand to her, but Stormfly didn't pay any attention.

Sailback's eyes soon turned into slits and the dragon stiffened up. She slowly flapped her wings.

"W-wait," Eret's eyes widened. This seemed too familiar. "Sailback-"

Before he managed to run and reach the handle of his dragon's saddle, Sailback flew up in the air and took off together with Stormfly.

"Stormfly!" Astrid called after her and tried to run in her direction, but Eret stopped her. She looked at him for a moment before she looked up at Stormfly again, watching her companion take off and out of her view. "W-what's happening?"

"I don't know," Eret shook his head. "But I have a bad feeling about this-"

 _WAR HORN BLOWS._

Aiden looked up scared. His little hands held onto Astrid tightly. "M-mommy?" He whimpered.

Astrid held him close and looked at Eret. "We have to go back," she said and Eret nodded in agreement. He took Aiden out of her arms and started to run back to Berk with them. When they came there, it was chaos.

Just by standing on the outskirts of the forest, they could see everything – they could see all the dragons forcing their way out of their homes and houses. The dragons who were resting inside the hangars suddenly started to push each other out with no care or worry for the Vikings around them.

"Watch out!" A voice boomed from the top of the stairs Great Hall and a big crack was heard. Eret's eyes widened. He set Aiden down by Astrid and sprinted towards the stairs as he saw some baby dragons playing around.

"ERET!" Astrid cried out in horror. The pressure from the dragons inside the Great Hall had broken down the massive doors, and they were falling straight at the stairs.

Eret stumbled over one a stone, but pushed himself back up on his feet. He ran towards the stairs and grabbed the dragons roughly by the tail before yanking and throwing them into the air beside him. Just before the doors fell down the stairs, he pushed himself out of the way as well.

Astrid stopped and covered her mouth. The doors flew down all the way to the plaza, crashing over a house. It tore straight into pieces and collapsed onto of the now, non-moving object below. It didn't take long before Vikings who had taken cover started to dig out and search for anyone who could have possibly been squeezed under.

Astrid picked Aiden up as she spotted Eret getting up with the help of the Chief's wife. She hurried over to them. "Eret!" She sighed relieved and checked him for wounds.

"I-I'm alright, lass," Eret panted slightly, running a shaky hand through his hair. He looked up at the sky together with Valka and Astrid. "The dragons."

Valka covered her mouth. "Do you think...?"

Astrid shook her head in disbelief. "There's no way," She shook her head and held Aiden closer. "He can't be back!" She said in tears, holding Aiden's face against her chest so she couldn't see the sight.

 _The dragons were leaving Berk._

Valka took a deep breath and rested her hand on Astrid's shoulder. "We have to prepare for the worst," she said seriously and looked into her eyes.

Astrid held Aiden tighter and looked back at the sky as they could see the dragons stop far off on the horizon. They were merely a black dot on the sky, but they knew they were anything but that. She swallowed and looked down at the boy in her arms. Then her eyes went to Valka again. "W-will you watch over him?" She whispered.

Valka looked at her hesitantly before she nodded. She let her say goodbye to him before she took the frightened lad out of her arms. "I'll find Stoick!" She said and hurried up the stairs to where she knew Stoick was last seen.

Astrid looked up at Eret and without another word headed towards the chief's house to retrieve her axe. She had to fight – she had to prepare herself for the worst. Even if it meant risking her life for the sake of the dragons. Because she knew – there would be nothing left to live for if Drago was back with a new alpha.

After they had retrieved their weapons, Astrid and Eret ran past down to the plaza where a Viking was being pulled out of the ruins of the collapsed house. He seemed to be fine, but the Vikings assured her when she asked that they had to get him up to the Great Hall for a checkup.

"Oh my...Loki!" Tuffnut fistbumped the air as he stood above the little hilltop together with his sister, overlooking the damage the doors had left behind.

"I haven't seen this much destruction in years..." Ruffnut whispered, her eyes wide. She soon looked at her twin brother and grinned.

"This is awesome!" They yelled out in happiness and jumped up and down.

Fishlegs ran past them and down to Astrid and Eret with a whine. "My Meatlug!" He whimpered. "She-she just-she left me in the middle of a belly rub!"

"All the dragons left," Astrid sighed and looked out over the horizon again – for once not being bothered to quiet the overly happy twins down. "We're fearing that Drago could have returned."

This seemed to catch the twins attention – and neither did it help when Fishlegs squealed the evil man's name out loud. Vikings started to gather around them and bomb them with questions.

"How do you know?"

"There's no way!"

"He's long dead, lass!"

"This is crazy!"

"Hiccup defeated him-

"What is the meaning of this?!" Stoick yelled out angrily. He pushed his way through the Vikings and to the center of the circle where he grabbed Astrid by her shoulders. She stumbled back a bit surprised but looked up at the chief. "Astrid, what happened to the dragons?"

Astrid looked over at Eret who soon nodded at her. She swallowed thickly and said,

" _Drago has returned."_

Stoick's eyes widened and his skin went as pale as the snow around them. He looked into her eyes as if searching for the truth – as if what she had just told him was a lie because he couldn't believe it one second. He had murdered that man. His son had murdered his soul.

Stoick slowly let go of the lass' shoulders. His eyes narrowed and as if nothing happened, as if it was another raid of the dragons back in the old days, the color in his face returned. And ever so silently, he ordered the Vikings to prepare for war.

 _WAR HORN BLOWS._

Vikings lined up heavily in front of the forge where weapons were dumped into their arms along with shields. Catapults were reloaded, and the archers of the village prepared on top of the hills surrounding Berk. Scouts were sent out to make sure there weren't anyone attacking from the island's blind spot.

 _WAR HORN BLOWS._

Astrid gripped her axe tighter as she stood on the front lines with Eret and Fishlegs – who both had insisted that she went up in the Great Hall to take cover until the war was over. The Chief stood by the archers, overlooking the Vikings who were preparing for the worst – but also preparing to giving their very best.

 _The war horn blows one final time._

Everyone watches with nervous eyes as they could see the fleet take shape on the horizon and the dragons circling it all the way. They were all reminded of that dreaded day – the day when Drago's men attacked Berk with the alpha to avenge their cruel leader who soon appeared to fight the war for them.

They were all reminded of Hiccup as well, and murmurs went by that if Drago was to return, so would Hiccup. A part of Astrid hoped that was true – so she could see her loved one again, but a part of her wished anything but that.

Stoick narrowed his eyes as he watched the fleet move closer and closer. Everything seemed to happen so fast – yet it took a while until the dragons were finally outlined on the horizon and they could feel the force of the wind they were moving towards Berk. Waves were roaring against the rocks below his feet and the wind howled-

"Chief," A familiar voice spoke beside him. As the said man looked down, he saw Gobber standing beside him, looking out on the horizon with his old apprentice's spyglass. "I think...you might want to see this," he whispered, a small smile taking place on his old lips.

Stoick's eyebrows furrowed. He grabbed the binocular out of his hand and put it up against his eye. Quickly, he pointed it towards the fleet and closed his other eye. And there he saw it – the familiar crest. A Berkian fleet. "Impossible..." he whispered.

"I highly doubt so, chief," Gobber laughed and looked over at the fleet as well. "They have returned with an old friend," he said and just then, they heard the loudest roar they had heard in years.

 _A Night Fury's call._

Almost instantly, the heavy intensity and concentration in the army of the Vikings were lifted and replaced by relief and confusion. Astrid's eyes widened at the sound and immediately pushed her way to the front – not paying any attention to Vikings before her. She stopped as she stood at the end of the docks, at the very front where only the catapults they had were placed.

"Toothless..." She whispered, looking up at the dragons circling the fleet. As they got closer, she saw ropes from the ships and dragons pulling the boats towards Berk.

 _It all made sense._

It wasn't a new Alpha that was trying to take over the Archipelago and it's inhabited dragons. The dragons had responded to his distress calls. Toothless's calls.

 _The Alpha had returned at last._

 _"_ Lower your weapons!" Astrid yelled out to the crowd who stood frozen in their place. It wasn't before she started yelling around that they were brought into reality. They looked at her confused, but Stoick soon backed her up.

"It's the Expedition team!" Stoick called out to the Vikings and made sure everyone had lowered their weapons and that the catapults were locked. He hurried down to the docks once he sent Gobber up to the Great Hall to inform the women and children that they were safe.

Astrid looked back over the horizon as the fleet was suddenly closer than she had expected. Her eyes were ready to tear up, but her guts were holding her back. How did they find Toothless? And how did he willingly want to return to Berk? Snotlout wasn't exactly the very convincing one.

As the ships closed in on the docks, Spitelout took control and started to order the ships to where they would set anchor and settle the ships. The dragons above them finally scattered and were broken away from their little trance.

"Meatlug!" Fishlegs cried out happily as she flew down and landed ontop of him. The two wiggled around like two happy kids, but Astrid barely paid any attention to it and neither did Stoick. While everyone was reuniting with their dragons, the two stepped forward as the leading ship was settled before them and the plank was laid down.

Spitelout was the first one to board the plank. Stoick greeted him by taking his forearm and helping him up on the docks. "Brother," He laughed faintly and embraced him.

Spitelout patted him on his back and took off his helmet. He pulled back with a chuckle. "You heard him, didn't ya?"

Stoick pulled away as well and looked over at the ship where Astrid had already thrown herself onboard. "It was hard to miss." He patted his shoulder and looked around for the Night Fury.

Toothless whined and roared with a whimper as he tried to squeeze himself out of the doors. He wiggled his paws like a wild cat and Vikings went over to help drag him out. But the dragon went completely crazy as a familiar scent filled his nostrils. He roared in excitement as he saw Astrid and finally managed to slip out. He ran towards the Viking and pounced on her.

Astrid laughed and dropped her axe as she fell down on her back. "Hey buddy!" She smiled brightly, tears falling from her eyes. She rubbed his chin and laughed even more as he started to lick him with his slobbery tongue. "Oh, I've missed you and your nasty saliva so much!" She laughed and hugged his head tightly, but the hug was short as the dragon kept bouncing around excitedly.

The Vikings who were watching laughed at the sight. It wasn't until the Night Fury peeked his head inside the room again that everyone became curious and confused. Astrid could hear a few warbles and coos inside as she slowly stood up.

 _Then she heard that voice._

"Thanks, buddy," It chuckled softly and a hand rested on the Night Fury's head. The Night Fury's butt slowly wiggled backwards in excitement and the figure finally limped out on the crutch and revealed himself.

"H-Hiccup..." Astrid whispered, her eyes watering even more. She covered her mouth, barely believing what she saw before her.

Stoick looked up from the talk with Spitelout as everyone went silent and even their conversation died down. He looked over at the ship, and just like everyone else, he went speechless. There was no possible way...

Hiccup limped out on the crutch while he supported himself on his loyal friend. With every step he took towards Astrid, her eyes seemed to tear up even more. He didn't stop until she finally took a step back and retreated her hands to herself.

"H-Hicc..." Astrid whispered again, watching him as if she had seen a ghost, which in this case she was sure she just did. She looked around herself, at the Vikings, and soon realized that everyone had seen him as well. That it wasn't just her imagination.

"That's my name," Hiccup chuckled faintly, feeling tears build up in his eyes. He slowly let go of Toothless, who had finally calmed down, and reached his hand out to her. "Mi'lady..."

Astrid's eyes widened even more. They slowly fell on his hand and without thinking about it, she reached out and took it. It wasn't when she threw herself into his arms or when they crashed down that she was brought back into reality.

It was by the smallest touch of their fingertips connecting that she felt his _presence_ and that she felt his _soul_ and _body_.

She could feel him. His skin, his clothes, his hair – his breathing and his heart.

He was there, in her arms at last.

 _She could finally feel him._

 **AND THEY WERE REUNITED AT LAST!**

 **Wooh, I made a chapter :'D Although I'm still sick, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it, and I'm sorry if I misspelled a lot heh ill have to look over this chapter again when I'm better.**

 **I also have a question for later - I might be able to make more HTTYD books in the future, or one-shots for that book hah I haven't updated that in ages!**

 **Anyways, I was wondering what kind of theme would be interesting to see? And don't just say hiccstrid and only romance - you should know by now I love to twist stuff and add action and all that haha!**

 **But yeah, I've seen a lot of stories about runaway Hiccup, and I would prefer if that wasn't a suggestion either, but please come with suggestions to themes even if it is the runaway theme! I would love to hear what you readers are interested in reading fanfics about!**

 **Love yaaa 3**


	8. Chapter 8

_Roses._

Her hair always smelt like the beautiful red flowers as if she bathed in them every sunrise, Hiccup remembered. It brought him back to the day they stayed as close as now, but nothing was in between them.

 _Silk._

Hiccup hadn't often felt the felt the fabric in his hands, but when he did, he knew nothing else could be comparable to her golden locks of hair.

 _Braid._

Even after all these years, she still kept her hair in braids, and he could feel her fingers twisting around in his hair, working so delicately in his neck to give him one as well.

 _Tears._

They were both crying – Hiccup wasn't sure why he was crying, but he could feel Astrid's heart break. He didn't know if it was good or bad – perhaps that triggered the waterfall from his eyes.

 _Voices._

Hiccup took a final breath as he held beloved girlfriend in his arms – he took a final breath to breathe in the roses of the silky hair, and to feel the braid at his fingertips inbetween their tears. Voices were surrounding them, and for once Hiccup didn't feel overwhelmed. His love was safe – in his arms. He never wanted to let go, and a part of him knew she didn't either.

But every happy ending had it's twist, and so they were broken apart as a massive figure stood above them. Hiccup could hear his father's silent sobs as he kneeled down beside the two – unable to contain himself.

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes, his grip on the crying maiden in his arms loosening for a moment. First, he was greeted by the blinding sun, but it didn't take a moment before his father leaned over and blocked the pain – and he could finally get a glimpse of his face.

"Son..." His father whispered speechlessly, a tear sliding down his cheek. He helped him sit up with Astrid in his arms, before he finally hugged them both tightly in his larger embrace. He closed his eyes and Hiccup leaned into his love and closed his as well.

"W-why do I feel like I haven't heard that in years..." Hiccup joked with a faint laugh. His arms carefully let go of Astrid as she pulled back and gave them a chance to reunite. He wrapped them around his father and felt his grip tighten around him, but for once he didn't complain that his ribs were getting crushed – he didn't want him to let go. Neither of them did.

"We've been blessed," Stoick laughed faintly and rested his hand on his head, running his fingers through his hair to feel his soft hair yet again. Hiccup pulled away faintly from the hug to look up at him, and his father looked back at him in tears.

Hiccup wiped away a tear with a smile, shaking his head. Never had he thought his father would have said that – he always told him he was a burden – a disappointment – a disgrace. And for him to finally speak those words...

 _He truly felt appreciated._

"Y-you're not the only one," Hiccup laughed, his voice cracking. He looked into his father's eyes, who understood almost right away. Then his eyes fell on Astrid's who took a bit longer to understand, until it finally settled in her head.

 _Aiden._

Snotlout walked up to them and rested a hand on his cousin's shoulder. The chief looked up at him and so did Hiccup. "We have a lot to talk about," he said with a faint smile, sharing a short eye-contact with Hiccup.

Stoick looked at his son, holding him by his shoulder one final time before he got up on shaky feet. He overlooked his people and then finally let his gaze fall on the sky. Silently, he thanked the Gods above for sending his son back, and he silently took his time to collect himself before he turned to his people who had been cheering together with the dragons. He rose his arms up high. "We'll have a feast!" He laughed, not giving it a second thought that his weakness was shown before them. "To celebrate the return of Berk's heir!"

Loud cheers roared in the air and the dragons shot up their fire above the crowd which created beautiful sparks in all the different colors. Hiccup laughed at the sight and pulled Astrid closer – but had to pull back as he was tackled to the ground by a squealing and crying Fishlegs.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs cried and squeezed him hard in his arms. Hiccup groaned and suddenly was pulled back into reality. He laughed nervously but smiled at the Viking.

"I've missed you too, Fishlegs," Hiccup laughed when he finally pulled away.

Fishlegs squealed and got up excitedly before he helped him sit up. "I've updated the book of dragons so much and-and we've seen newer breeds move south during winter!" He squealed, hiding his mouth in his hands to contain his happiness.

Hiccup brushed himself off with a smile and looked up at his friend. "You'll have to show me everything."

Fishlegs giggled happily.

"Someone needs to punch me..." Tuffnut murmured as he stared at the one-legged Viking before him. He was completely speechless – even though he had lots of dreams about seeing ghosts.

Ruffnut punched him in the face and her brother groaned and held his hurting jaw. She soon looked at Hiccup the same way. "You owe me one too-

Tuffnut's fist connected with her jaw.

Hiccup scratched his neck with a laugh. "I never thought I would be happy to see you two haven't changed," He shook his head with a smile and looked over at Astrid while Fishlegs happily reunited with Snotlout and the twins. "Should I be worried?"

Astrid laughed and wiped away her never-ending tears. "You should be anything but worried," She smiled and took the crutch. She carefully got up and helped him as well. "They haven't been like that since..." She slowly went silent and sighed.

Hiccup smiled sadly at that. He gently lifted her chin and without saying anything, he pulled her into his arms again and embraced her – he didn't say a word to reassure her that he was there. She could feel him – she could feel his presence and that was enough to assure her.

While she hugged him tightly, she felt a stare. Slowly she looked over at the docks where Eret stood. He didn't seem as happy as the other Vikings who had gone ahead – if anything, he looked disappointed and sad. The sight pained her, but she didn't want to deal with it now. Hiccup was back.

 _He didn't have to know._

When they finally parted, Astrid slowly rested her hand on his cheek and took in the sight. She could see that he was pretty week – both in his eyes and in his figure. "Are you okay?" She whispered.

Hiccup smiled – that beautiful smile that sent butterflies down her stomach, and he whispered back, "As cheesy at it sounds," he laughed and caressed her back gently. "I'm fine now that I'm here with you."

Astrid's lips quivered as she held back the tears and let the smile escape instead. She soon pulled back and punched his shoulder.

"Ow!" Hiccup yelped and clutched it. He looked at her, stepping back slightly. "What-what was that for?"

"T-that," Astrid said, suddenly feeling out of breath. "Was for leaving us," she whispered and stepped forward, closing the gap between them once again. She smiled up at him and he couldn't hold the act anymore and grinned back. Her lips pecked against his for a short moment before he said,

"And that...was for coming back, right?" Hiccup whispered with a cheeky grin, never tearing his eyes from hers.

Astrid bit her lip before hitting him again, finally catching him off guard.

"Oh come on!" Hiccup whined which had Toothless chuckle at them.

Astrid merely crossed her arms and tried to look annoyed as she started to walk away. "That was for stealing my line!"

Hiccup held his aching shoulder with a pout. "So no good kisses?"

"Keep dreaming, dragon boy!" Astrid laughed and climbed out of the ship. She helped Fishlegs out first before she helped the pouting Viking onto the docks as well. Toothless was pushing his butt playfully from behind.

When it was finally Snotlout's turn, she helped him up and pulled the smaller Viking into a hug with a laugh. "I never thought you'd grow another inch."

Snotlout grumbled as the dragons and the Vikings laughed. "Of course I can!" He protested, grumbling a bit, but he soon relaxed and accepted her hug. They hadn't seen each other in five years after all and although only Snotlout was willing to admit it – Astrid couldn't help herself.

"Who made you so mean all of a sudden?" Hiccup laughed, taking Snotlout's side playfully. Astrid shrugged her shoulders and pulled back. She cracked her knuckles.

"Could be the hormones," She joked, but the two saw past the joke and knew they had triggered something. Hiccup and Snotlout shared a glance before Snotlout yelled, "RUN!" and ran off with Hookfang.

Hiccup whined as he was left behind with the annoyed Viking. He slowly looked at her and smiled nervously. "We're still good, right?"

Astrid grinned at him and kept her arms crossed. Hiccup gulped.

"We-We'll eh, see you two in the Great Hall!" Ruffnut squealed and ran off with her brother – a scared Fishlegs following them as well.

Astrid laughed at that and finally cut the act. She wrapped her arm around Hiccup's waist and helped him walk. As they did, she kissed his cheek, feeling his clumsy shaving against her lips. "Are you going to fill me in?"

Hiccup chuckled at that and looked down at her for a small moment. "You just scared away the one man that had all the answers."

Astrid gave him a look. "What? Snotlout?" She laughed.

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "Surprisingly, yeah. He found-wait," he stopped and looked over at the ship. "There was a foreigner with us," he said and looked over at Toothless who tilted his head in confusion before the night fury lept onto the ship again and searched it real quick with no luck. "Weird..." Hiccup muttered and kept limping with her.

"I think I saw Spitelout talking with a strange guy," Astrid said and looked up at the road ahead of them to see if she could spot them, but with no luck. "I take it...he's not a friend?"

Hiccup hesitated. "It's...complicated. He was the one who saved me apparently, but he was also a prisoner just like myself."

Astrid froze at that. "Prisoner?" She looked at Hiccup with slightly wide eyes. Toothless growled.

Hiccup waved it off and shook his head. "It's a long story that I really would love to wait telling," he chuckled. "I have a feeling it will go on repeat for a few days."

Astrid slowly looked forward again as they kept walking. A prisoner? Was that why he was so weak? Had they injured him-no. It couldn't be like back then with the outcasts. Hiccup was far more scarred mentally than this for the following months. She was still worried though.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until they finally found themselves going up to the plaza. Some Vikings stood around the door and had headed back to working at getting it removed and repaired. Winter was coming after all.

Hiccup slowed down as he saw the wooden planks and the massive door and tracks it had left behind. "What...happened?" he whispered shocked.

Astrid grimaced. "It's another long story," She shook her head and looked around. Her eyes soon fell on Gobber who was collecting weapons at the forge from Vikings. She smiled and carefully guided him over to the man. She wanted them to reunite as well, but more importantly – she wanted him to see if he could get some sense into Hiccup and finally find out what was wrong with him.

As they stepped closer, the Vikings in line suddenly got silent as the two were spotted and the Night Fury as well. Gobber groaned faintly. "What is it now Sven-" he went silent as he saw them and his jaw dropped.

Hiccup chuckled at that. Gobber was never the one to be too surprised by his dramatic flair. "Hey Gobber. Still got room for me in the forge?"

A small inaudible sound escaped Gobber's open mouth. With shaky hands, he slowly lifted them up and took off his rusty helmet. "By Odin's beard..." He finally muttered, staring Hiccup up and down. He slowly stepped forward, looking at Astrid for a short moment as if asking if she could hit him back to reality.

Astrid smiled and laughed as Toothless squeezed his head in between the two. He showed his gummy smile – finally breaking the trance of the Viking before them.

Gobber laughed and threw his helmet away. A squawk followed it shortly.

He embraced the scrawny boy and lifted him off the ground. "I knew Odin wouldn't leave me with all this work for too long!" He laughed and danced around happily with him in his arms.

Hiccup struggled to balance himself a bit on his only leg, but laughed nonetheless. "It's nice to see you too Gobber!" He laughed and stumbled back against Toothless when Gobber finally let go. He held onto him gently and looked at his teacher.

Stormfly soon dropped the helmet by his feet and squawked. Astrid rubbed her snout and applauded her before the dragon ran off with Toothless to play – leaving Hiccup on his butt in the dirt.

The three laughed and finally collected themselves when Hiccup was back on his foot and crutch with Astrid's support around his waist.

"Go home lads!" He yelled at the Vikings who were waiting in line. They dumped the weapons annoyed and wandered off, but Gobber didn't care. He went into the forge with them and Hiccup was set down on top of one of the tables with a cup of water in his hand.

Hiccup sipped slightly from it and looked around. Everything looked just about the same – the leather and tools were all over the place and the dust and coal was still brushed onto the old shelves Gobber never used for anything good. Grump still laid at his spot in the forge – having slept even through Toothless' distress call which didn't really surprise anyone.

"I see you've made a few tweaks," Hiccup chuckled and looked over at some of the inventions he had left behind and that Gobber had tried to recreate his best for construction work.

Gobber rubbed his neck awkwardly and put on his helmet. "They haven't been tested just yet," he chuckled and leaned against the table. "They still need yer last adjustments."

Hiccup smiled at that. He looked around a bit more before he finally noticed small wooden weapons on the table he sat on. He set the cup down and picked one up. One of them had a letter carved into it.

 _A._

"Have ye met him yet?" Gobber asked, this time with a softer voice. He watched Astrid in his side view as she went up beside Hiccup and leaned against the table to look at the blade too.

Astrid shook her head. "We were just heading up there, but we saw you," She smiled and rested her hand on Hiccup's knee. "I thought you two maybe wanted to catch up a bit."

Gobber laughed at that. "There's not much to catch up with," he shook his head and sighed. "It's been lonely without ye, lad."

Hiccup smiled sadly and finally looked up at him. "I'll try to make it a bit lively again, although I'm not the best person for that," he chuckled and Gobber did as well while Astrid smiled.

"Yer little boy has been quite entertaining though," Gobber smiled and stood up again. "Do ye want to head up to him? He's with yer mother."

Hiccup swallowed thickly and took in a deep breath. "Does he...know? Does she know?"

Gobber shook his head. "Stoick has probably told her already, but Aiden...I doubt it."

Hiccup nodded at that. He looked at Astrid and they shared eye-contact for a moment before he slowly was about to lift himself down on his foot again, but Astrid laid her hand on her chest and shook her head. Hiccup looked at her confused.

"You need to tell us if there's something wrong," Astrid sighed and looked up at him. Hiccup slowly tensed up before he relaxed. He looked at the floor and the two watched him. "Did something happen before you were rescued by the foreigner?

Gobber opened his mouth to comment but closed it shortly after and decided not to comment. He watched the lad.

Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's still so fuzzy," He sighed and closed his eyes. "I've heard Snotlout's story and I've heard Viggo's."

Astrid shared a glance with Gobber who both understood it was the foreigner he was speaking of.

"I've heard Spitelout's as well," Hiccup laughed faintly. "I don't think there's anyone on the ship who hasn't told them their own story, but mine...I don't have one," he shook his head and looked at Astrid for a moment. "I just woke up and I felt...free."

Gobber swallowed and cleared his throat. Hiccup looked over at him. "What did Snotlout say?"

Hiccup rubbed his neck. "He said that the guy Viggo and I were the only prisoners on whatever Island that was, outside the Archipelago. He had apparently managed to get us out, but he was captured again and Snotlout rescued him," he shook his head. "I don't remember anything about a prison or getting taken. I just remember being pulled in and out of sleep for the longest of time until Snotlout finally told me everything – that it had been five years," He laughed and rubbed his eyes.

"I couldn't believe it," Hiccup whispered. "It felt like it was just a few months ago that we fought Drago."

Astrid bit her lip. She processed the information and slowly looked up at Hiccup. Her hand rubbed his knee absently to comfort him. "Did...Snotlout mention anything else? Or did that Viggo guy say anything about what happened in the prison?"

Hiccup shook his head again. "No, they said nothing," He looked down at her hand. "All I remember when I finally felt well enough to stay awake was that I felt terrible. Snotlout said it looked like someone had starved me all this time."

Gobber slowly straightened up, sensing that it was overwhelming Hiccup. He gave the lass a look before he finally stopped them. "I think we should discuss this later with the chief. He'll want to hear everything."

Hiccup nodded at that. Astrid helped him down from the table and supported him while he supported himself on the crutch and her body. Now that Hiccup had mentioned it, he did feel a bit lighter. Astrid wasn't sure if it was just the fact that they had been parted or that his story had made a mark in her head yet, though.

Gobber helped them out and started to walk with them past the ruins at the plaza and up the pebbles and rocks that laid to the proud house at the top of the hill.

Hiccup slowly took a breath as he they walked. When Astrid looked at him, she followed his gaze that was on the chieftain's house. She could only imagine how it was to finally see it again.

"It's alright," Astrid whispered, holding his hand in hers. She stroked it gently. "I know it will be hard, but...I promise you, it will be worth it."

Hiccup chuckled faintly. He finally tore his eyes from the house before him and looked into her eyes. "How can it not be?"

Gobber looked back at the two when he had stepped up on the porch of the house. He rested his hook on the handle and turned to him just as the two lovebirds had finally caught up. "Ready?"

Hiccup looked up at him and stopped walking. He took a deep breath, shared a glance with Astrid, before he finally looked back at the Viking and nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be," He smiled nervously, but obviously tried to hide it.

Gobber nodded at him and slowly opened the door.

When Gobber stepped aside and held it, Hiccup and Astrid limped up on the stairs and he could right away hear a gasp. It took some time before his eyes adjusted to the light inside the dark house and the blazing fire in the middle. At first, he didn't see the two figures sitting across in his father's big chair, but when he finally stepped into the dark, he saw everything.

Hiccup wasn't sure if he should feel bad for not looking at his mother more than once – but he couldn't help it. In her lap, sat a little red-haired boy. He walked inside absently, not even taking into consideration that he had his limited walking ability. All the way, he couldn't tear his eyes off of the boy. He wasn't even turned to him as if he was playing with the familiar nadder in his tiny hands on his mother's chest.

Finally, Hiccup looked up at his mother who was holding back her cries. Her left arm was wrapped around his waist to support him while her other hand was firmly over mouth – the fire reflecting through the tears on her cheeks.

He couldn't help but laugh faintly and walk up beside her. He gently laid his hand on hers that was wrapped around Aiden's waist and leaned down, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "Hey..." he whispered so quietly, scared that he might startle her.

Valka leaned into his touch and held his hand tightly. "My baby..." she whispered into her hand before finally pulling it away and holding onto his tunic. She hugged him carefully and cried quietly into his neck.

Hiccup carefully kneeled down by the chair and held her close while Gobber and Astrid settled down around the fire. He hushed her and assured her it was alright. He barely even noticed his father step into the hut as he kept calming her down. By now, he had caught the little boy's attention.

Out of instinct, he had crawled out of Valka's arms and ran over to hide behind Astrid's chair by the fire. He seemed pretty frightened of the stranger, and it hurt Hiccup a bit, but not as much as he would have expected it to. He was glad, in a way – that he wasn't too fond of strangers and knew to be vary about them.

When Valka finally pulled away from him, Hiccup reached out and took a chair under himself so he could sit at a proper height. He kept holding his mother's hands, but by now, his attention had moved to the little boy who was peeking curiously at the male.

Aiden held onto Astrid's tucked in shirt as he watched him. It was hard for the boy to see, but he looked so familiar. The man...He looked so much like the statue his mother always brought him to...

Hiccup looked up at Astrid for a moment as she turned to their son and assured him it was okay. She whispered something in his ear that Hiccup didn't catch – but he had a feeling he knew what she had told when the boy's eyes finally lit up and went to his again.

Hiccup smiled hopefully and set aside his crutch. He held out his hand for the shy boy who stumble forward on his clumsy feet. He watched his small fingers curl around the stuffed dragon – he watched as his mouth gently bit on it as a sign that he was unsure – he watched as he was scanned by the curious eyes.

Aiden carefully walked over to him until he stood right before his knees. He looked at the amputee for a moment and then up to his hands and finally his face. The little boy had always studied the statue's face – and although it wasn't exactly like the man before him, Aiden saw the resemblance.

Hiccup could feel his heart skip a beat as and tears fill his eyes as he heard the boy's voice for the very first time.

"P-papa?" Aiden whispered, looking up at him hopefully.

Hiccup laughed, the tears finally falling. He held his hands to him. "Yeah," he croaked. "It's me," he whispered and watched as the boy ran into his arms. He lifted him up on his lap right away as he felt the boy shake and sob. During their embrace, Hiccup rubbed and patted his back lovingly. "Shh..." he hushed him, but the boy never stopped crying.

All those negative memories regarding his father came into his head all at once – they had spoken bad words about his father and Aiden only first now realized that they were wrong. His father was alive!

"Papa...!" Aiden sobbed into his chest and held tightly onto his shirt. Hiccup only held him closer at that and finally ran his hands through his hair. He kissed his head lovingly.

"Shh, papa isn't going anywhere," Hiccup whispered with a smile. He closed his eyes and held him closer. "He's right here with you."

Astrid sniffed and hugged herself slightly as she watched them. Never once had she imagined that this event would fold out – that Hiccup would return to them and embrace his son in a heartfelt moment like this. She was overjoyed.

The two hugged for the longest of time and neither dared to break them apart. It wasn't until Aiden had finally calmed down and Hiccup realized he had cried himself to sleep, that he sat up straight and let the boy finally rest against his chest. He gently picked up the dragon that had fallen out of his hands and held it at Aiden's chest. Just by seeing how he held it even at is age, he understood how precious it was for his son. Just as it had been for him in his younger years.

Hiccup stroked the hair out of his eyes and the tears from his cheeks before he finally looked up at his family that was watching him with their smiles. He held him closer to himself – suddenly feeling overly happy and blessed.

He was finally reunited with his family.

He was finally holding his son.

 _He was alive._

But most importantly;

 _He had a second chance._


	9. Chapter 9

"You look exhausted."

Hiccup looked up as he heard a light voice speak up behind up. He lifted his head and turned it slightly to see Astrid walk up to the bed in his side view. Aiden was sleeping softly in her arms.

"I guess," He chuckled faintly and looked down at his hands again. He slowly moved his crutch and raised himself up on it – but just as fast as he had stood up, Astrid gently pushed him down again.

"There's nothing you need to take care of now that is more important than your own health," Astrid shook her head and looked dead into his eyes with worry. Hiccup sighed.

"But the meeting..." He murmured like a little kid.

"The meeting can wait," Astrid assured him with a smile while she sat down beside him. Hiccup took her spare hand in his and played with it slightly. "Besides." Hiccup lifted his gaze. "I don't think its something that will be over in a flash. It's quite the huge topic."

"Which is exactly _why_ I should be there," Hiccup argued, but he barely raised his voice or changed his expressions. He was too tired to argue about anything – it had been a long and emotional day.

"No," Astrid corrected him and intertwined their fingers. "It is exactly _why_ you should take this opportunity to rest. Everyone would want to know your story. Would you really be up to explain it a hundred times?"

Hiccup looked into her eyes for a moment before his eyes fell, his shoulders slumped and he gave up. "No..."

"Exactly," Astrid smiled, a bit satisfied, and gently encouraged him to lay down on the bed. While he did, she got up again and went over to the little bed beside her bed that was made especially for Aiden. He had a tendency to roll over in his sleep, so Stoick had built small fences around it.

Hiccup laid his head on the pillow and turned his body towards the bed. He watched his love plant a small kiss on their son's head before she sat down beside him again and started to undo her armor. His focus was too distracted by her that he barely noticed the Night Fury crawl up the stairs and settle down on the slab that still stayed in the room.

Astrid smiled to herself – knowing fully well that Hiccup was watching. She laid her armor down in the basket beside her bed and then finally moved it back under the bed so Aiden wouldn't find it. Then she got comfortable and laid down, her back against Hiccup.

Almost right away, Hiccup wrapped her arms around her and pulled her body against his. Astrid could feel his light breathing brush against her neck – it gave her back the feeling she had longed for. The feeling of being so near to someone she loved with all her life – it was different from when she held Aiden in her arms, yet it shared the same word.

 _Love._

It was wrapped around her waist like ropes that would never let her leave it behind again – It was brushing against her skin like feathers, tickling her and at the same time reminding her of his presence.

Hiccup slowly buried his face in her shoulder and breathed in. He held her closer – not even bothering to pull up the wool blanket. All the warmth and comfort he needed was already given by the Viking he was embracing in his arms.

Astrid smiled a bit more to herself. She rested her hand beneath the pillow while the other laid on his hand. Then she just watched Aiden in silence – not minding that even though she had longed to hear his voice again, they were being quiet. Neither had anything to talk about – it would somehow always end up in the topic that Hiccup was back. Astrid knew that he needed some rest from it – so for now, the cuddles were all she needed.

 _It was all they needed._

Hiccup lifted his head with a small snort. He hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep. For a small moment, he looked around in hope to recognize where he was and what had happened, and in the next, he had laid his head down again – eyes closed completely as the feeling of safety and recognition kicked back in.

Ever so gently, he pulled the body before him closer to his own and just breathed in the rose before him. The Viking moved faintly but didn't say or do anything else. It wasn't before he finally decided to play with her hair that she stirred and turned around to face him.

A tired smile grew on her soft, pink lips and he slowly leaned in, capturing them between his own. The kiss was deep and pure – yet they were both careful that it didn't turn to anything further. When Hiccup pulled back slightly – his lips still brushing against hers, he grinned and whispered, "I wouldn't mind waking up to this every day."

Astrid giggled faintly at that and looked into his eyes. "Neither," She whispered and closed the gap between them again. Her hands rested gently against his chest – feeling his heart pound and his chest rise.

Hiccup moved his hand that had played with her hair, down to her cheek and gently caressed it. He was about to move his other hand further down when suddenly there was a high pitched squeal beside them.

"Papa! Mama!" Aiden squealed happily and got up on his little feet. Toothless whined and pawed his ears at the loud and sudden sound that brought him out of his sleep. The little boy tried to climb over the fence, but Astrid quickly stopped him with a laugh.

"Easy there, adventurer!" Astrid joked and slowly sat up. She got up and helped him out of the bed so he wouldn't faceplant into the wooden floor below.

Hiccup smiled to himself and ran his hand through his hair. He wasn't sure if he could ever get used to waking up to their _son_.

The moment Aiden's feet connected with the wood, he sprinted out of Astrid's arms and climbed up on the bed clumsily. Hiccup turned over to face him and laughed. He helped him up the last bit, but soon regretted it slightly when the boy bounced on him and started to jump up and down on his stomach.

"Ow!" Hiccup groaned when Astrid pulled him away and into her arms where he received lots of tickles for being naughty. The boy squealed and giggled.

"Mama no!" Aiden whimpered and tried to reach for Hiccup who rubbed his belly as he sat up. When Astrid noticed he was more capable of taking care of the overly excited lad, she let him go and he wiggled his way out of her arms like a worm. He crawled over to Hiccup and just sat down beside him, clutching his dragon in his arms and staring up at him – his smile never fading.

Hiccup smiled and shook his head. He took him in his arms and carefully lifted him up, as much as his weak arms could take, into the air. He playfully threw him up a few times and then finally let him rest on his chest when he got exhausted. Astrid fixed a few pillows behind his back which he gladly leaned against.

"So," Hiccup hummed and stroked away the messy hair from his eyes. Aiden grinned up at him. "How did our little angel sleep?"

Aiden giggled happily at the nickname and cuddled at his chest. "I-I dream of-of heep and-and yak!"

"Oh?" Hiccup laughed at that. "And what were they doing?"

"We-we played and-and they are my fwiends!" Aiden smiled happily and played around with his dragon. Hiccup kept stroking away the hair from his eyes as he watched him.

"I see," He smiled and looked up at Astrid for a moment before his eyes rested on him yet again. "I dreamt about us flying together," he hummed and Aiden looked up at him excitedly. "And exploring every corner of the world."

Aiden giggled excitedly. "D-did my fwiends come?"

"The sheep and the yak?" Hiccup chuckled and Aiden nodded violently and looked at him hopefully. He grimaced a bit which made Aiden's smile fall faintly. "Not exactly."

"But..." Aiden looked up at him sadly.

Hiccup smiled and ruffled his hair. "But we did tell them everything when we came back. It was like they had been with us the whole time!"

Aiden's smile soon returned and he giggled happily. He jumped into his arms again as he had pulled back earlier and right away cuddled into his warmth. Hiccup didn't hesitate a bit to wrap his arm around him.

Astrid smiled as she watched the two. "I didn't think you'd be this professional at fathering," she joked.

"Fathering?" Hiccup teased. "Is that even a word? And yes, I have my secrets," He stuck his tongue out at her.

"What kind of secrets are those?" Astrid laughed and pulled out the basket. "Shouldn't it be considered a part of your personality?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes playfully. "It might as well now, since I told you my _deepest_ secret."

Astrid teased him by baby cooing the words back at him. "Yes, your utter most _deepest_ secret," she laughed and started to move her shoulders and arms. "Or should I add this as well."

"Oh, not that again!" Hiccup groaned and ran his hand across his face.

Aiden giggled at his mother and tried to do the same.

Astrid laughed and gestured to Aiden. "Even he thinks so!"

Hiccup pouted at them both, his shoulders slumping down in defeat. "No fair-that doesn't count!" He quickly said before Astrid mimicked his childish behavior again. Aiden on the other hand had no limitations to repeating whatever they did.

Astrid shook her head with a smile and put on her armor. She then finally got up and stretched with a happy yawn.

Hiccup eyed her the whole time with a small smile on his lips. The moon was shining softly through the open window, casting a gorgeous highlight on her frame and her eyes – her beautiful eyes.

Astrid stretched her arms with a smile. "Are you going to watch me all day or do you want to go up to the Great Hall for some supper?"

Hiccup blushed faintly and laughed cheekily. "I wouldn't mind watching you all day – but some food sounds very inviting as well."

Astrid rolled her eyes playfully and took Aiden out of his arms. The boy whined faintly and hugged onto his mother. "He'll carry you when he feels better okay?" She cooed up at him. "We'll still be close to him – after all, we need to make sure he doesn't clumsily end up in the ocean!"

"Hey!" Hiccup whined and gestured with his hand out insulted. "I don't just randomly walk out in the ocean! At least...not _that_ often."

Toothless cackled at that.

Astrid giggled and moved her shoulders around which made Hiccup whine and pout even more. His shoulders fell again and with a stiff move – as if avoiding very hard to move and gesture around again, he got his crutch and stood up on his shaky legs. He would surely have to try and work out again – at least then he wouldn't feel like a helpless, old man.

"You're mean," Hiccup mumbled at her before pecking her lips.

Astrid hummed happily. "Just the way you like it~"

Hiccup smirked a bit at that and kissed her nose as well. Astrid laughed and pulled away before she started to walk towards the stairs – Aiden didn't need to get the wrong ideas.

Hiccup chuckled at that. He fixed his boot for a moment before he limped after them and down the stairs – the lazy Night Fury following behind him tiredly. It wasn't until they finally came out to the cold evening air that Hiccup finally felt awake and well again. The bitterness of the cold boosted up his awareness like food usually did after a day at the forge.

Hiccup's eyes lit up a bit more as he wondered. Did Aiden take after him? Had Gobber brought him to the forge sometimes or did Astrid? He looked at the little boy who was watching him with a smile – his head resting ever so gently against Astrid's chest.

Hiccup smiled at that and kept walking beside them and towards the stairs. "What else does he like to do?" He looked at Astrid for a moment before looking back at where the stairs were compared to his feet.

"Well, you already know the adventurer part," Astrid smiled and held him closer. "But aside from that, he likes to try a little bit of everything. We've been a few times at the forge." Hiccup's eyes lit up more at that. "And we've tried to sew clothes too, but he never has the ability to sit still," She laughed.

"I wonder who's side that's from," Hiccup laughed, making it sound like a joke – but in reality he did wonder if it was from him or her, or if it was just the personality of a child that affected it.

"Oh I think we know who," Astrid rolled her eyes with a smile and grinned at him. Hiccup pouted, and Aiden giggled at the grimace.

"I have no idea what you're even _on_ about," Hiccup huffed, playfully insulted. "I can concentrate very well."

"Yeah, unless you get those crazy ideas," Astrid laughed. "Or start exploring."

"Hey-my ideas are never crazy," Hiccup defended himself. Astrid stared at him and even Toothless grumbled in disagreement. "Who-who's side are you even on?" He gestured annoyed at his dragon. Almost right away, the Night Fury playfully ran up beside Astrid and cooed happily.

Astrid grinned and rubbed his scales. "Good boy!"

Toothless purred happily and bounced ahead of them for a bit before he went behind Hiccup, moved his head between his legs and swooped him up on his scaly back. He had noticed his friend struggle a bit to walk the last steps – after all, the stairs were quite exhausting for the most trained Vikings.

Hiccup chuckled and laid his crutch under his arm. He scratched his scales in his favorite spots and the Night Fury happily cooed as he walked the last steps for him.

Aiden cooed in awe as he watched his father. His hand was sticking slightly in his mouth since he was so mesmerized. His father looked more and more like the man from the statues – the way he rode the dragon – the way he sat almost proudly on its back. His father was truly as amazing as everyone had claimed he was!

Astrid hummed and smiled at some of the Vikings that were exiting the hall and held the doors open for them – mostly because they were still shocked to see the young lad and his Night Fury's return, and not exactly by courtesy. Astrid was quite amazed, nonetheless, that they had managed to repair the doors so quickly. It truly was amazing to have the dragon's help at times. She didn't exactly want to imagine them doing it without them and listening to the complaints Stoick was receiving by the dinner table.

Hiccup chuckled at their faces and nodded faintly at them before his focus went to what was happening behind the doors. No one seemed to notice them at first – they were too caught up in discussing, and they probably thought it was just the men leaving.

The room was filled with a few dragons who belonged to the rightful dragon riders and the council gathered around the firepit in the center. A map was sprawled across a table behind the chief with a few wooden statues on it that indicated they had already discussed the whereabouts of the mysterious Island Snotlout came across.

When the dragons bowed to show their respect to the returned alpha, the chieftain looked up thanks to his slightly well side view. He smiled warmly as he saw the four walk up to the table. "I see you have rested," He laughed faintly at their messy hair. Hiccup and Astrid blushed and fixed it right away, not even thinking about Aiden since his was naturally like that.

Valka smiled and walked past Stoick and to greet them. "Are you hungry? There's still some stew left."

"We're starving," Hiccup chuckled and nodded. His mother hugged them with a smile – which was a bit unusual for even Astrid who had spent more time with her than her own son. Then she walked over to the large pot and prepared their dinner. Hiccup watched her. "Did we miss anything?" This time he looked up at his father, but Snotlout spoke up for him.

"We've discussed what I talked to you about," He nodded, and the chief did as well. Hiccup nodded slowly before he slid off the scales of the Night Fury and supported himself on his crutch. At least he might be able to let go without having to explain his story too many times.

Gobber gave him a small look as he walked up beside his father's chair – signaling he had already mentioned what they discussed in the forge. Hiccup returned a grateful smile before he pulled out the chair for Astrid and sat down as well.

Astrid smiled and sat down with Aiden in her lap. She held him close as he tried to reach out for the dancing of orange and red waves before them. "What is the conclusion?"

Stoick looked around at the people who sat at the table – the old council was still alive much to Hiccup's surprise. They had survived at least 80 winters by now. With a small nod, he rested his hand on his son's shoulder who looked up at him.

"It's been a really hard topic to discuss," Stoick admitted with a small chuckle. "It's truly a miracle that you're back – taking into consideration what happened and our experiences with fighting death before."

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I would have assumed after the funeral I would have perished for good," he chuckled faintly, covering the painful words up with his humor.

"Aye," Stoick nodded. "We did so as well, but since you're back, we'll have to keep in mind that what we knew about the afterlife and the Gods may have changed for good. And that the worst of our enemies have returned as well."

Hiccup nodded understandingly. "Has there been any other signs? Of Alvin? Drago?" He looked over at the council for a moment and thanked his mother quietly as she served them their food before finally settling down on the other side of the chief again.

One of the elders, Alvis, spoke up. "There has been no sign from the Gods," he shook his head. "But the weather is slowly turning..."

"Which is a good reason for us to start worrying," Stoick sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. Hiccup could see the bags under his eyes and feel the burden he had left on his father's shoulders. He slowly let go of his spoon and rested his hand on his father's as he was about to speek up. Carefully, he got up.

"We'll have to expect the worst then," Hiccup nodded and looked over the table again – all eyes were on him, but one stood out a bit more than the other's. Viggo seemed to watch him, quite interested in what he had to say. He shook off the thought and continued, "It'll be impossible for us to find out if Drago is still alive – in the shape and form as myself. But we can most certainly assure us if Alvin will return."

Fishlegs whined faintly. "D-do you mean...?"

 _"We'll have to dig up his corpse."_

Silence filled the room before everyone started to murmur and the elders discussed the idea together. Meanwhile, Tuffnut fist bumped into the air. "Aww yeah! We get to see the flesh eaten body of-

Snotlout cleared his throat. "There are kids in the room," He muttered and smacked him across his face. He groaned in satisfaction. "Oh, I've missed that."

Ruffnut snickered and punched his brother off the chair before the two ended up in a fist fight with each other.

Stoick grumbled annoyed and banged his fist against the table. The gesture even had Aiden try to hide in Astrid's arms. "Quiet!" He yelled at them. "There is no discussing this," He said and got up, resting his frame at the table. He eyed the Vikings at the table. "It is the only proof we have of Alvin's possible return. There is _nothing_ else that we can look into."

" _Chief_ , with all due _respect_ of the Gods, it is a corpse," One of the elders muttered. "It's an outrages idea-

" _Have_ you forgotten what that bloody man did to our _heir_?" Stoick growled back at him. "To my _son_?"

Hiccup shuddered at the thoughts and slowly gripped onto the table more than he had before. He would have wished he didn't have to be reminded or even as much as remember it, but he knew that forgetting it completely would mean that he lost a part of himself and his development of the aftermaths.

Astrid laid her hand on his and they shared a small glance. Hiccup could see how worried she was, but he assured her silently that it was alright.

"It's the only idea we have," Hiccup said and calmed down his father who looked as if he was about to rip the elder's head off. The chief reluctantly sat back down in his chair and his wife rubbed his tense arm and shoulder to calm him down. "I am all up to listening to your better ideas, but if we can guard it and see its state, we'll be able to predict it if he _does_ return. It will be one less possible enemy to worry about."

Some murmuring went by the elders again while the rest stayed silent and watched them. The Chief was to make the final decision, but it was in their law and tradition that they heard a second opinion.

Hiccup watched them patiently. He knew the decisions were often compared to their norms and traditions, and especially their religious belief which seemed to be stronger by them for some reason despite what everyone's experience was with the Gods. All he could pray for was that they would at least consider it, for the safety of their people. Otherwise, he had a feeling that everything would crash down on them sooner than they expected.

After some time, they finally spoke. "We'll discuss it further another time."

Stoick was about to stand up and literally kill the man with his eyes, but Hiccup stopped him and moved out his hand carefully. "That's alright," he nodded. "But please take into consideration that breaking from tradition could be our only opportunity."

The elders nodded before they finally stood up. Stoick did as well once he had calmed himself and out of respect, so did everyone else. "Meeting...dismissed," Stoick sighed and watched the elders walk out before he finally sat down in his chair again and rubbed his eyes.

Hiccup sighed and limped over to his father. "You should head home. I'll take care that the last bits of complaints are taken care of-

"Oh, no ye ain't, lad," Gobber said as he hobbled over to them. He rested his hook on his apprentice's arm and looked over at the chief. "I'll take the round. Ye still need to recover," he nodded at them both before he gobbled down the last of his mead and made his way outside.

Hiccup watched him for a small moment before he looked up at his father who was too drained to protest. "If they do come, we'll need your strength too," He smiled slightly and rubbed his arm faintly. "I'll help Gobber in the morning. You two could really use some shut-eye."

Stoick sighed but smiled gratefully at his son. He laid his hand on his shoulder. "Alright," he nodded and pulled him into his arms – he had to make sure that he was still there before he went off to the house. "But don't stay up too late alright?"

Hiccup chuckled at that. "I can't promise that now that I have a family to take care of," he smiled and watch his father's eyes lit up slightly with what he had longed to see for so long – pride. His son was finally becoming more like his father.

Stoick nodded at him one final time before Valka helped him walk towards the house with their dragons. She waved faintly at the two before they walked out the doors.

Hiccup sighed and slowly sat down in his chair again – guilt overflooding his chest and his heart. He shook it off, rolled his shoulders a few time and finally started to eat his now cold stew.

Astrid quietly continued to feed Aiden now that the food was a bit cooler. She looked over at their friends who had taken the look in her eyes as a hint that they should leave. Viggo on the other hand, didn't seem to mind it and approached them while the other's left.

"I can truly see why you're the heir," Viggo chuckled and leaned against the table. A faint smile grew on Hiccup's lips at that.

"I don't know if it'll be as great of a sight if I do finally become the chief," Hiccup admitted and ate a bit more before he looked up at the Viking. "I hope everyone has treated you well?"

Viggo nodded and laughed. "Like a hero. Your friend, Snotlout, made sure of that."

"I'm glad," Hiccup smiled and nodded. "You seemed very quiet though," he soon said and looked up at him, his smile fading slightly. Their eyes met for a short moment before Hiccup broke it again to eat more.

Viggo watched him for a moment. "I didn't want to interrupt. It isn't exactly my place to come up with the ideas best suited for your people, now is it?"

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders faintly with a nod. "I guess you've got a point there," He swallowed some water and looked up at him. " _Do_ you have any suggestions though?"

Viggo pursed his lips, looked up at the ceiling in thoughts and then at the ground. He shook his head. "Not at the moment, no. The meeting wasn't leading in any particular direction until you came," he chuckled. "I've been filled in a bit by Snotlout on what happened a few years back. I've never heard anything crazier in my life."

Hiccup laughed faintly. "Well, crazy is what we Berkians do. You'll have to get used to it."

"I most certainly do," Viggo nodded with a smile.

Eret eyed them carefully from where he sat – at first the chief was hesitant to put him into the council due to the fact that the man had led Drago's army onto Berk for revenge, but someone reminded him that he would be useful and that the fury he had built up towards him during the battle had to let go at one point. Not only that, but Eret in the council was supported by a lot of Berkians too – even his wife. It was a good choice in order to keep Eret's men from erupting more chaos in their tribe.

He finally gathered up the courage he had and went over to them. The conversation between the two males cut off shortly after they noticed his presence, but he barely paid any attention. He looked at Astrid and gave her a small stare, before saying, "Could I speak with Astrid for a moment?"

Hiccup eyed him slightly. He didn't exactly have any good memories of the man because of his absence. "Is it important?"

Astrid shot Hiccup a faint glare, and assured him with a squeeze to his hand. "I'll be right back," She smiled and sat Aiden in Hiccup's lap. The boy cuddled close happily. "Can you watch over him without me?" She teased to lighten up the mood a bit.

Hiccup chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I'm not that helpless," he said playfully and wrapped his arm around him while he kept eating.

"Dream on," Astrid laughed and without thinking about it, she grabbed the bulky man's hand and dragged him over to a table at the end of the hall where she was sure he wouldn't be eavesdropping them.

Hiccup eyed them and their hands before Viggo caught his attention again and they filled each other in the best they could about the meeting and the background information they both felt was important for the matter. Of course, he was a bit hesitant with the man as well, so Hiccup made sure he didn't spill too much information into his open mouth.

Astrid glared at Eret when they sat down. "This really has to be important," She muttered and let go of his hand. Eret looked at her with a slightly pained expression, before he shook it off – reminded himself that her love had returned and looked at her seriously.

"I don't trust him," Eret admitted and moved his head slightly towards the man sitting by the heir.

Astrid looked over her shoulder for a moment before she looked back at Eret again to not make it too obvious – although a part of her felt that it was already painfully obvious that they were discussing the stranger. "And your reason...?"

"I've heard his voice before," Eret shook his head and sighed. "I know it's not much to go on, but I don't think he's up to any good. I have spent almost my whole life under Drago's possession and my experiences with the men there are not diverse. Everyone acted like loyal dogs."

Astrid sat up a bit tenser. She looked over he shoulder again and took in the stranger's appearance but had to look away when their eyes met. She looked back at Eret who was now glaring at the man. With a small slap to the arm, Eret looked back at her. "Do you think he's another loyal puppy?" She whispered just to be sure he didn't hear.

"There's a possibility," Eret nodded, but waved her off. "It could be my head as well. I haven't slept in a while and we didn't exactly have anything else but males on those ships," he chuckled faintly.

Astrid stared at him for a moment before she nodded slightly. Something wasn't right. And the warning signs weren't exactly screaming at her because of Viggo anymore. Reluctantly, she decided not to question him anymore and got up. "Anything else?"

Eret watched her before he shook his head as if they hadn't even discussed any dangerous accusations. "No, nothing else."

Astrid nodded. "Alright," she said simply, eyed him one final time, before she moved out of the spot between the bench and the table, and walked towards the two again. The feeling of discomfort filled her senses again and she looked over her shoulder one more time before finally settling down beside Hiccup again. She played absently with their son which Hiccup soon noticed. He broke mid-sentence, in what he was explaining to Viggo, and looked at her.

"Is everything alright?" Hiccup asked a bit worried and looked into her eyes. Astrid put on a smile and nodded with a faint laugh.

"Yeah, it's nothing," Astrid murmured, still looking at the ground. The two stayed silent, eyed each other, and then finally resumed their conversation while Astrid entertained their son quietly.

Because in her mind it was anything but alright. The feeling in her gut – that something horrible would happen – something worse than they had already lived through, would happen, didn't seem to disappear.

 _And Astrid knew from that point on, sleep wouldn't come easy._

 **Helluuu I told myself I wouldn't be able to write this chapter today, BUT that just gave me a bigger reason and motivation to do so.**

 **I hope you don't feel like this story is rushed, because at this point I'm starting to believe it won't be 30 chapters after all haha :'D Most likely, it will be longer if I'll make the plot interesting enough since I want to include a wee bit of stuff**

 **But ya'll don't mind that right?**

 **It won't turn out to be a sequel where multiple events with no connection happens - It will lead up to one connected plot, but less events? Nahhhhhhhhhh!**

 **See ya next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

It wasn't until Astrid's thoughts started to ramble and throb in her head that she decided she had enough for the day. Sitting and listening to the two males chat into the evening didn't help either – especially not when she could still feel Eret's eyes glaring their way like daggers.

When their laughs faded and silence filled the hall, Astrid decided to stand up. Aiden had fallen asleep a while ago in her arms and she was feeling quite exhausted herself. "I'll head to bed a little earlier," She smiled and kissed Hiccup's cheek.

Hiccup looked up at her confused, but nodded as he saw the sleeping Aiden. "I'll come shortly," He smiled and kissed Aiden's head. "I will take a quick check around the village to make sure Gobber hasn't fallen over," he chuckled and got up as well with his crutch.

Viggo nodded understandingly. "Rest sounds like a wise way to end the long day with. I hope for the sake of peace the elders will come forth with a decision tomorrow, though."

Hiccup sighed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Their religious beliefs can get a bit over their heads sometimes," He chuckled.

"A bit?" Astrid rolled her eyes playfully and followed them out. Their dragons walked tiredly behind them – ready for a good night rest.

When they arrived outside, Hiccup helped Astrid climb up on Stormfly's saddle. He made sure they were both safe – which Astrid of course commented on to shield her true mood with humor. It was something she had picked up from Hiccup throughout the years – and it always worked like a charm.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at her comment and checked the rope one final time even though he was aware that it was just down the steps of the hall. "Don't stay up for me," he smiled and waved, watching her fly down. His eyes then fell on his dragon who's eyes had suddenly brightened up at the sky. Hiccup followed his gaze – the moon was so large and beautiful that evening.

"Ah it would have been a perfect day for a midnight flight," Hiccup murmured and watched Toothless suddenly fly down the stairs and run towards their house. He shared a confused stare with Viggo who just shrugged his shoulders.

"I would assume he's just as exhausted as us," Viggo suggested.

Hiccup nodded and supported himself on his crutch. "I would assume so as well," he chuckled and looked away and back at the sky. They stayed silent for a bit before Viggo took it as a queue that he wanted to be alone. The Viking excused himself, wished him a good night's rest and then walked down the stairs to the house he was allowed to rest in for the time being.

Hiccup's eyes didn't leave the sight before him. He had often stood at the top of the stairs and overlooked the village, thinking that one day, if Snotlout wasn't proved as the better hair, he would protect and organize the village on his own. Of course, the council had some say in it, but he knew for the most part that the chief was mainly in control.

He didn't like to use the word control, though. His mind always seemed to associate it with something bad due to his experiences; his father _controlled_ the Vikings in the war against the dragons; Alvin _controlled_ the barbaric Outcasts to follow his dream in conquering the dragons' minds; Drago _controlled_ the dragons through the evil Alpha.

Hiccup always preferred to look at it as a burden when he was younger – mostly because no one expected he would be able to carry it all on his small and bony shoulders. But now that he had time to reflect over his past thoughts and the experiences up through the years, he finally realized that it was anything but a burden.

 _It was a blessing._

Even though the chief was picked from the bloodline and not by the villagers themselves, there had always been a loyalty to the family of the Haddocks. The Villagers trusted in the chief to lead them through the fields of battle and lead them home safely in celebration of their Victory.

 _The chief protects his own._

There was no doubt about it now – the chief would always give his best despite being born into a life he didn't decide for himself. Because it was the _right_ thing to do.

Hiccup was brought out of his thoughts when the doors opened, and a dark haired, bulky figure stepped out beside him. His body tensed, and his eyes immediately stared into Eret's. The man only glared harder at that and walked past him without another word. Hiccup had expected him to bump against his shoulder or even as much as yell at him – he had expected himself to do so as well for what Eret had put upon his people, but neither dared to speak a word in the suddenly tense evening air.

Hiccup knew Eret was aware he was watching him until he was out of sight – he wasn't for one moment prepared to let him go until he was truly forced to. After all, the lives that could have been lost in the meaningless battle between Eret's army and the Berkians still counted as a treason he had committed. While everyone already seemed to have forgiven him,

 _Hiccup just couldn't bring himself to do it, too._

With a final sigh, he started to make his way down the stairs. It wasn't quite an ideal thing to do with only one leg and a crutch, but he had to help his father. Hiccup was sure that if he had gone straight home now without looking around the village, he would lay awake by his guilt. His father had clearly overworked himself, and the least he could do was help it off his shoulders while he was there.

But when he had already gone through half of the village, he was overly exhausted about limping around with his crutch. It was almost timed perfectly as well since he found himself outside the forge – the only place on the island he would be able to get a new prosthetic. Of course, making it from scratch wasn't exactly what he felt up to right now, so he decided to look through the pile of scraps to find a hopefully used and fitting one. Frowning, he soon realized that there wasn't any there – ever since the peace with the dragons, less people lost their limbs, hence, they didn't need as much repairing and building.

It was a dead business on the island.

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his eyes. He looked around for a moment until he spotted something up at the edge of the open loft. Curiously, he set his crutch aside and started to climb the steps of the ladder. Gobber usually put his deepest belongings up there so Hiccup was sure to not scramble around there too much.

When his hand wrapped around the object, it didn't take him more than a second to realize what it was. The squeaky metal moved slightly in his grip and Hiccup carefully pulled the old prosthetic down. _His_ old prosthetic.

"Why would he keep this?" Hiccup murmured slightly and carefully climbed down again. He supported himself on his crutch and went over to the work table. When he set it down, he could see that it wasn't in a too bad shape after all. "Could use some oiling, a few tweaks and it should work," Hiccup mumbled to himself in thoughts.

The young lad looked around for a moment before he grabbed some tools off the shelf, pulled out a chair beneath him and started to repair the rusty leg. It's size wasn't anywhere near his needed length, so he had to replace the wooden part of it with a longer piece that he had to carve from the dried wood inside the forge. It wasn't exactly ideal to have the wood longer than the metal – as it would create a certain unbalance, but it would be a good support until he had time to completely redo it.

He just hoped Gobber didn't mind. It _was_ once his leg after all.

When he was almost done with the leg, he heard a dragon land outside and soon the familiar Night Fury peeked his head inside. Hiccup smiled and petted his head as he bounced over to him – not even feeling bothered to scold him for knocking over stuff in the forge. It wasn't exactly the tidiest after all.

"Hey buddy," Hiccup laughed and scratched his chin. "I thought you went to sleep."

Toothless purred and cooed happily. He wagged his tail like an excited puppy, gave him a gummy smile and bounced outside. It didn't take long before he came back to knock over more stuff with his massive body – but Hiccup couldn't pay any attention to it when he noticed what Toothless had in his mouth.

 _His old saddle._

"But buddy," Hiccup chuckled slightly and set down his prosthetic. He took it out of his mouth when he walked over to him. Toothless cooed and sat down. The dragon licked its lips faintly and looked at him expectantly.

Hiccup smiled and shook his head. He leaned over and got some fish from the bucket Gobber always left for Grump and gave it to Toothless. He secretly reminded himself to refill it later. "Let's see..." Hiccup murmured as he opened the saddle and all its complex attachments.

Now that Toothless had his tailfin back, most of it was, well, useless. He didn't need the attachments to control his wings, so the pedals had to go, and he didn't need the supports that went back to keep the tail in place.

As Hiccup overlooked it, he realized that he wished Toothless didn't have it – that _he_ didn't give him his tailfin. It already felt as if they would be further apart and that their bond would be weakened.

Pushing aside the thought, he shook his head and started to fix the saddle. He undid the attachments and dumped them in a pile beneath the table so that in the end, the only thing on the table was the leather saddle and his prosthetic leg.

Toothless leaned down and sniffed the mechanics by his feet. He crooned sadly and moved forward his tail – soon realizing what it meant. His sad eyes met Hiccup who just smiled back at him reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it, Toothless," Hiccup sighed and caressed his head in his hands. He stroked over the scales. "It's better this way."

Toothless cooed quietly and leaned into his touch. He pressed his snout at his stomach and closed his eyes.

The two stayed like that for a few moments until Hiccup had collected himself enough to finish the prosthetic leg. After he had attached it and adjusted himself to the strange and unusual leg, he got the saddle up and started to attach it to Toothless' back. "But that doesn't mean we can't head out for our midnight flight," Hiccup smiled and tightened the straps slightly.

Toothless crooned happily and smiled up at his best friend. He watched him the whole time and barely even gave him a chance to get on before he sprinted out of the forge and leaped into the sky.

"Woah, woah-Toothless!" Hiccup yelled and managed to grab onto the metal handles in time. He pulled himself up and soon started to laugh at the enthusiastic dragon. He leaned against his body and looked up at the sky as they moved closer and closer to the clouds above.

"Atta boy!" Hiccup's laugh echoed through the sky as they finally glided above them. He reached for them and watched the clouds split between his fingers. He had truly missed this – the chance of being free. A part of him had felt like he was held captive for so long – and if Viggo and Snotlout spoke the truth, he really had. But now...

 _This was his life. This was his freedom_.

The Viking reached his arms up in the air and leaned back, taking in the feeling completely. Toothless seemed to enjoy it as well – they both shared almost the same fate, but now they were free; free to do whatever they wanted.

 _Together._

Hiccup soon lowered his arms with a grin. He rolled his shoulders and leaned down to Toothless' head. "What do you say you show me what you really can do?" Hiccup grinned at the dragon growled, accepting the challenge. The heir grabbed onto the handles and leaned against his body just in time for the night fury to stoop down below the clouds to give it everything he had.

Hiccup laughed and moved over on his back in the saddle as the dragon finally glided through the clouds again. He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. "Have you been practicing for this moment?"

Toothless cackled and cooed proudly. He glided softly through the cold air and looked beneath them to enjoy the view.

"I could get use to this every day..." Hiccup murmured with a smile, watching the beautiful stars that complimented the bright moon. He first sat up and held onto the saddle when Toothless growled – it was an all too familiar warning sound.

Hiccup immediately moved back in position and gripped the handles despite his body screaming at him to take it slow. He looked below them. "What do you see?" He squinted his eyes and Toothless growled faintly. He slowly flew them down above the forest.

It took Hiccup a while to understand – Toothless had spotted Alvin's final resting place. The thoughts had Hiccup shudder. "I don't like this place either, bud," He sighed and gripped onto the saddle tighter. He swallowed thickly and looked below as Toothless circled the area.

The dragon cooed slightly and looked up at his rider. Hiccup soon looked back at him and realized what he was trying to say. He slowly looked down below them again unsure. "Do you really think we should...?"

Toothless growled in response and slowly made his way down. He landed on one of the trees before jumping down. Hiccup carefully dismounted him and looked over at the dark grave that still laid untouched with a few rocks on top that had probably fell because of the wildlife.

Hiccup wanted to tell himself that it was enough to just look at the grave – to see that the grass had grown and that the rocks had barely changed position from when they left it, but a part of him was screaming at him to start digging.

 _And so he did._

But little did he know, someone was watching him from the shadows.


	11. Chapter 11

_Bones._

Hiccup froze at the touch of it. There was no doubt that he'd recognize it – death was something he was all too familiar with by now. They weren't any different from the bones of the dragons they used for luck and pride – it wasn't any difference at all.

Toothless cooed quietly and looked at him concerned. He nudged Hiccup as if saying that maybe it wasn't a good idea, but Hiccup barely noticed.

There, right by his feet, was the rotten and scorched body of his torturer – the one person who ruined him – both his mind and his body. As he looked at the skull – unable to tear his eyes away, he started to remember it all. Every slash, every wound and every drop of blood.

" _Train me dragons, boy."_

Alvin's voice spoke in his head. Hiccup's body started to shake in fear at the sound – he wasn't sure if it was a memory or if Alvin _really_ was back to haunt his dreams yet again.

Toothless whimpered at that. He kept nudging his rider, but he didn't respond at all. But that didn't stop the night fury – he soon grabbed his best friend by his collar and dragged him out of the grave.

Hiccup's eyes fell on the sky above him – everything seemed to blur around him. Was it the tears? Was it his clouded mind? Was it...

Toothless roared in his face and as if Hiccup hadn't taken a breath in years, he finally accepted the air with a gasp. He clutched his chest, panted and looked around unfocused. It took the heir a while to realize where he was.

"I-I...Buddy its alright," Hiccup murmured, laying his hand on his snout. He swallowed thickly and leaned his head back in the grass to fully relax. He muttered the same over and over and slowly lifted his forearm to his eyes.

First now he realized that he was crying. The foggy stars above him was a result of the watery substance and not of Alvin's evil power over him. Even now that he was sure – that it was confirmed that Alvin couldn't return, he still felt scared. Like Alvin was still with him wherever he went.

"Ma-maybe this wasn't a good idea..." Hiccup whispered and slowly rested his arm over his eyes, but the moment he did, and the darkness consumed his sight – he saw him.

Hiccup squirmed and moved his hand away quickly, sitting up right away. He opened his eyes wide and looked around himself and at Toothless to assure himself one final time where he was.

Toothless whimpered. He nudged his stomach and chest with his snout and cooed in hope to comfort his rider. He didn't like to see him like this – it wasn't his rider.

Hiccup hugged onto his scaly head and held him close – both to assure him and himself that he would be alright. "W-we should go back," Hiccup whispered against his scales. "We've-we got what we came for," he sighed and rubbed his eyes shakily.

Toothless crooned and helped him up on his saddle. His head soon shot up as he heard a twig snap in the bushes in front of them. Hiccup's body went alert like never before.

Toothless growled and stood protectively as he looked at the bush carefully. He could smell someone's presence.

Hiccup held onto the saddle tightly and pulled at it faintly, his eyes never leaving the darkness. He knew he wasn't in the state to handle whoever or whatever was in there – but he also knew; he _had_ to _know_.

"Toothless," Hiccup whispered and looked around himself for a moment. His eyes fell on the grave and then he looked back up at the darkness before them. Toothless didn't need the confirmation when they heard footsteps running away – and he soon sped forward after it.

The footsteps faded and closed in on them. It confused them both, but they Toothless followed the smell. Once again, Hiccup was grateful for his ability to see and maneuver better in the dark – if he was alone, he would have been done for. Especially now that it sounded like there was more than one person out in the forest aside from them.

Toothless roared as he started to catch up with the spy. He jumped on a tree and leaped after the target.

"Meatlug! I got your favorite rocks-oof!" Fishlegs yelped as Toothless bounced at him. He whimpered, and the rocks fell out of his arms. Unable to see who it was, Fishlegs started to cry for help. "Meatlug!"

Hiccup's eyes widened. He jumped down and pushed Toothless gently off Fishlegs. "It's just us," He said and moved his hand over his mouth without taking into consideration that it was coated in dirt and mud.

Fishlegs looked up at him and whimpered quietly. "Hi-Hiccup?" He coughed as he got some dirt in his mouth and whined.

"Ah, sorry about that," Hiccup grimaced and pulled away. He brushed his hands off on his pants and watched Fishlegs get back up on his feet while trying to wipe his mouth clean. Meatlug soon landed beside him as if nothing had happened and soon started to eat up the rocks on the ground happily.

Toothless cooed and sat down confused.

"What are you doing out this late?" Hiccup chuckled faintly and wiped away the tears he just realized he still had while Fishlegs was distracted.

"I-I should be asking you the same-wait," Fishlegs soon froze. He looked at his own hands that were covered in dirt and then at Hiccups. His eyes widened. "Don't tell me..."

Hiccup grimaced at that and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's..."

"Oh Thor," Fishlegs started to hyperventilate. "Oh, _Thor_ this is bad-like really bad- Ruffnut and Tuffnut kind of bad!"

Hiccup sighed and leaned his head against Toothless' saddle. The dragon lifted his head confused and watched the Viking scramble around helplessly.

"Oh, Stoick will be so mad!" Fishlegs whimpered and grabbed Hiccup by his shoulders, yanking him back up in a straight position. "The elders will punish you!"

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup snapped at him and the Viking shut up right away and looked into his eyes. The only sound that left his mouth was another whimper. "I _know_ ," He sighed and slowly let go of his friend. He rested his hand against his forehead and walked away a few steps to get a breath of fresh air. "I _messed_ up, really _bad._ I _know._ "

Fishlegs covered his mouth to not comment anything but couldn't help himself. "T-they could banish you for this!"

"They won't," Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "I'm still the heir, back from the dead or not," He muttered and ran a hand through his hair. He soon looked back at Fishlegs. "I _had_ to know if he was back."

"I-I get that-we all did! But..." Fishlegs whimpered and looked at him. "He-he's not back, right?"

Hiccup shook his head. "His body is still there," he sighed and took a moment to collect himself as the picture went back in his mind. "Never mind that," He shuddered and looked back at Fishlegs. "You should get back to the Village. If anyone sees you with me, they'll think you helped."

Fishlegs looked at him worried before he looked at Meatlug who had finished her meal and stood beside him. He shakily climbed up in her saddle. "T-they...they really won't banish you right? Everyone is so happy you're back..." he whispered.

Hiccup looked at him sadly and walked up to him. He rested his hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll handle this alone, alright? If it helps you, I'll confess to them tomorrow."

Fishlegs whined. "I don't know what helps me! I'm just worried about you!"

Hiccup chuckled faintly and patted his shoulder. "I'll be fine. I _always_ am, somehow," he smiled up at him. "Just, don't get involved in this alright? Stay away from that area of the forest and whatever you do, _don't_ tell Astrid or my father about it."

Fishlegs looked at him unsure. He was horrible at keeping secrets – something which hadn't changed at all.

"Fishlegs..." Hiccup said warningly. "If you-

"G-Good night!" Fishlegs shrieked and the two flew away scared after seeing Hiccup's look in his eyes turn from "I'm frightened too," to "I'll skin you if you tell anyone".

Hiccup sighed and kicked a rock with his prosthetic. "Odin couldn't hate me any more than this," he grumbled and Toothless cooed. He soon moved back into his saddle and took a moment before he spoke.

"You're right buddy. Let's get home."

"And this is where we start assembling everything," Hiccup smiled and showed the pieces of metal in his hand to the little boy in his lap. He had stood up early – but of course woken up Aiden in the process by accident, so he could build himself a proper prosthetic. He guessed that Astrid could use a day to sleep in.

Aiden cooed in awe. He poked the little pieces and picked one up. When he was about to put it between his teeth, Hiccup laughed and took it away from him.

"It's not food," Hiccup chuckled and showed him by biting gently down. The small sound and Hiccup's grimace at the rusted metallic taste satisfied Aiden and he soon squealed. Hiccup smiled and laid the pieces out of his reach. With Aiden sitting against his stomach, he soon started to assemble the leg together while making sure Aiden got to see everything and look at every piece.

Gobber would often teach him the same way when he was younger, and the dragons left them alone enough for him to finally learn something – although he was mostly a self-taught blacksmith. He'd show him every single piece of metal in every shape and size – from little bolts to the bigger and complex weapons the Blacksmith crafted for the most honorable Berkians.

It helped him recognize the pieces whenever he bumped into a problem while constructing something in the back room – he didn't necessarily know how it would work together at first, but the size and the shape helped his imagination start.

Aiden cooed in awe and watched him together with the dragon – which Hiccup had helped dress up in its sweater to make sure he didn't get cold either. Aiden was more than happy that his father treated his dragon as if it was a real one – he never asked why he didn't have a dragon of his own either which only strengthened their newly made bond.

Hiccup did wonder though – since he was his child, he would have expected him to ride a dragon from the age of one. At least that's what he imagined he'd be like before he even had the chance to meet him. But now that he was there and finally learned more about his son, it was getting clearer and cleared each passing minute.

While Hiccup fiddled with the last pieces, someone blocked the light from the furnace and he looked up only to see three beefy Vikings and a disappointed looking Gothi before them. His body tensed up, even more as Aiden moved closer. There was no doubt what they were there to talk to him about – but a thought lingered in his mind almost instantly.

Had Fishlegs told them?

"You need to come with us, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third," One of the Vikings, Bjørn, who Hiccup knew stood more by the elders' side than with his father's, spat at them.

Hiccup glared faintly up at them but showed little to no resistance. "May I finish this first?" He held up his prosthetic while his other arm was wrapped protectively around Aiden's waist.

"It's urgent," Another Viking hissed, but Gothi smacked them across their heads. The last Viking stayed silent, not daring to say anything. She looked up at Hiccup and motioned for him to continue.

Hiccup eyed the Vikings cautiously before he finally let go of Aiden – who's arms immediately hugged his body and continued to work on the leg. He fixed the pieces together and made sure the screws were tight enough. When he had oiled the metal, he finally put it on his amputee and got up with Aiden safely in his arms - secretly hoping that his prosthetic was flawless, so he didn't fall on the way up.

Then, without another word, he walked towards the Great Hall with the Vikings following closely behind him. For the moment, he was relieved Astrid was still in bed and that Toothless had done his own 'chiefly' duties. Both would have most likely made a bigger scene than needed to protect him.

"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" Hiccup muttered and looked over his shoulder for a moment.

"I think you already know very well," Bjørn grumbled at him and nudged him to walk faster up the last steps as if he was a prisoner on his own island. Hiccup shot a glare at him after he almost stumbled with Aiden against the stairs. After all, he was still getting used to his new leg.

When Hiccup arrived at the top of the stairs, the two Vikings that always guarded the Hall outside whenever there was a meeting, opened the door for them. It gave him a small flash back to the evening before – when he and Astrid had arrived later into the soon to be canceled meeting. The room was lit up by the fire and the torches and the council was already gathered at the table.

Stoick rose from his chair angrily and before Valka could calm him down, or even get a word out, he walked towards them. He grabbed Hiccup by his shoulders and the Vikings who had followed him went to their rightful place at the table together with Gothi.

"What were you thinking?" Stoick hissed at him.

Valka jogged up beside them and laid her hand on Stoick's arm. "Stoick, calm down!" She whisper-yelled at him. "You're being too harsh-

"He broke a _law_ , Valka," Stoick said and glared her way for a moment.

"I had to," Hiccup sighed and gently moved his hands off of his shoulders. He walked past his father, knowing very well he didn't want to explain himself more than once. While he went to his chair at the table, he assured Aiden that everything was alright, but even so the little boy didn't seem to calm down at all. It made Hiccup wish Astrid was there to take him out and away from what he knew would become a nasty and lousy discussion.

Stoick and Valka spoke for a moment before finally returning to their seats as well, and together the chief and the elders announced that the meeting had officially started.

As Hiccup looked around, he could see Snotlout and Fishlegs sitting across from them with even the twins as silent as the dead. Fishlegs was whimpering quietly until Snotlout punched him in the side and shut him up.

Gobber was sat next to Valka and Spitelout who all shared worried glances his way. Hiccup slowly shook it off and looked up as the elder presented the topic – which by now, Hiccup was sure everyone was aware of already. He just still couldn't figure out why.

Viggo watched them silently from his seat next to Snotlout and Spitelout. The only reason Hiccup knew he was accepted to the meetings was because of the possible threat they were facing from the mysterious island. Hiccup still didn't understand why Eret _had_ to be there for this meeting, though.

"Tonight, it was reported that the heir of Berk, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third," Alvis presented him and Hiccup slowly rose from his chair with Aiden at his hip. "Acted on his own behalf, by _breaking_ our law and digging up the body of Alvin the Treacherous, former and now deceased chief of Outcast Island."

Hiccup looked around for a moment and realized everyone _had_ been informed before it started. No one's expression changed out of surprise, but only hardened even more out of the one they were currently showing. Hiccup could feel his father boiling beside him.

"Do you refuse this accusation?" The elder looked over at the heir.

Hiccup shook his head. "No, I do not. I take full responsibility for my actions."

The elders looked at each other for a moment, having expected him to refuse and accuse someone else for framing him. Alvis looked at the chief and nodded at him to finally let out what was on his mind.

Valka gripped onto his hand for a moment to remind him he had to stay professional. Then she finally let go and Stoick stood up. The chief took a deep breath and looked across the table. His eyes slowly moved to his son who watched him patiently. "Is there any other reason behind this than the one you presented yesterday at the meeting?"

Hiccup looked at him for a moment, reading behind his words right away. Stoick knew that he had gone ahead because of personal reasons, but for his own sake, he also knew that his father didn't want him to break that out to the public although he was very aware that most of them knew already.

Hiccup was about to shake his head but stopped and looked over at the elders and then at his father. "I did it because the discussion was taking too long," He said truthfully. "If he _was_ back, we would be able to prepare thanks to my decision."

"Are you claiming that we made a mistake?" One of the elders spat, clearly insulted.

"Yeah," Hiccup said and looked directly into his eyes. "I'm claiming that you put our _people_ in danger, to _protect_ your _own_ religious believes, and that your decision shouldn't have been thought over."

The elders murmured to each other while Hiccup slowly sat down again and so did his father. He held Aiden closer and glanced over at Viggo who was watching him with those same, interested eyes that sent shivers down his spine. He shook it off and looked up when a chair was pushed back abruptly, and he heard Eret speak up.

"You were still going against the elders and the chief," Eret said, trying to seem as collected and calm as he could, but Hiccup could hear that he was trying to set him up. It made him furious. "Such treason deserves a punishment even for the heir."

"Who gave you the right to speak up?" Stoick yelled and slammed his fist at the table.

Aiden whimpered and hid in Hiccup's chest scared. "Papa..." he whispered.

"I know," Hiccup whispered into his hair and kissed his head over and over. "It's soon over, I promise."

Alvis lifted his hand. "Chief," he stopped him and Eret kept standing. "He's right. And you know it."

Stoick glared in their direction and slowly got up. "You're forgetting who you're talking to," He growled at the two. "Nothing gets approved unless I say so. There will be _no_ punishment!"

Hiccup looked up at his father and the elders gasped. They started to discuss even more, and the part of the council that supported them started to complain and argue with the chief.

Hiccup could feel his heart break even further – his father didn't deserve this weight on his shoulder. He was supposed to rest, not defend his son's life for something he did. He slowly rose to stand again, but another voice beat him to it.

"Enough!" Snotlout roared at the Vikings and they almost right away went silent. All eyes went on the lad. "All this talk about the Gods and treason – and you're forgetting that this _man_ returned from the dead-received powers unlike anything we had ever seen from _Thor_ himself!" He yelled at them and their expressions soon turned to realization and then guilt. But Eret wouldn't have it.

"And so what?" Eret muttered at Snotlout. "He's here – a normal individual just like us. Do you think we would have been treated the same if we had been through _exactly_ that?" He hissed. "You're all _favorizing_ him. Because of his _title_ and his _right_ to become chieftain. It's not fair to the rest of us."

"Yeah!" Bjørn agreed.

"He's right," Alvis nodded.

Soon a chilling and deep laughter filled the tense air. Aiden hid even further into Hiccup's arms and even Stoick shuddered at the sound. Looking around for the sound, Hiccup soon spotted Viggo across from him, wiping away a tear from his eye – a smile plastered on his face.

"What are you laughing at, _outsider_?" Eret spat.

Hiccup glared at him. "Aren't you one too?" He hissed.

"Silence," Stoick grumbled at the two and looked at the Viking who had rescued his son. He nodded at him, giving him permission to talk.

"While he did commit treason and go past the council's law, he did everyone a favor," Viggo said and slowly got up. His eyes shot daggers into Eret's soul. "Would you have been able to dig up a corpse of your greatest demons all by _yourself_? For the sake of everyone's _safety_?"

Eret opened his mouth but stayed silent. His gaze hardened in Hiccup's direction.

Viggo moved his hands behind his back. "And instead of accusing someone, shouldn't we be informing the lad _how_ we found out about what he did? A little birdie told me someone was out in the forest as well," He hummed, and all eyes fell on Eret.

Alvis' eyes narrowed together with Stoick's. He had been the one who told the elders about the dug-up hole in the forest.

Hiccup slowly looked over at Fishlegs as he realized. He hadn't snitched on him.

Fishlegs watched the two anxiously.

"This is more tense than the day we pulled a dead mouse out of-

Ruffnut smacked her brother and placed her finger on her lips. They both went silent.

"What _were_ you doing out in the forest? Were you _spying_ on the heir?" Viggo hummed faintly and watched Eret's every move.

"I was making sure he wouldn't do anything wrong," Eret muttered back at him. "It would be a shame to-

"So, you _were_ spying on him," Viggo confirmed and Eret shut up. "Isn't that punishable, too?"

Stoick glared fire at the Viking. "It is."

Hiccup looked over at Eret and slowly down at the table. That snapped twig in the woods – it wasn't Fishlegs. His friend was just a disguise for Eret.

Eret's eyes widened. He looked over at Viggo and then over at Hiccup. "No-that's not fair-he"

"Take him to the cells," Stoick hissed at Gobber and Spitelout who nodded without another word, grabbed the lad and started to walk towards the door.

Eret squirmed against his grip as the doors opened and Astrid walked inside. His eyes widened. "Tell them Astrid!" He yelled as they passed her. She watched him with wide eyes and looked after him confused. "Tell them that he's-

"Wait," Hiccup spoke up, no emotion in his voice. He looked at Viggo for a moment, who watched him curiously. Eret stopped trashing against the Vikings and all eyes fell on the heir. For a moment, he stayed silent – his eyes staring into the fire before him. He then slowly turned to the man in captive. "He has all the right to move around freely on Berk."

Stoick narrowed his eyes. "Son, that is not the case-"

"He _knows_ that," Hiccup looked up at his father, cutting him off abruptly. "When Toothless and I was out there, we both sensed someone was watching us."

"I was just passing by-

"You just _claimed_ you were _watching_ him," Snotlout spat at Eret. He didn't seem too fond of the man either.

Astrid slowly walked up beside Hiccup, laying her hand on his arm. "What's going on?" She whispered and looked at Eret worried.

" _Why_ didn't you _confront_ me in the woods? When you saw me?" Hiccup looked at Eret a bit annoyed, but he was clearly trying not to show it – though his voice gave it away. " _Why_ did you have to _confront_ the council? Because it was the _right_ thing to do or because you _want_ to put me in a bad spot?"

Eret slowly straightened up and glared in his direction. "Because it was the _right_ thing to do," He said calmly, but both knew that it was anything but the truth.

"And you thought it would benefit you?" Hiccup hissed.

Valka sighed and laid her hand on Stoick's. She looked into his eyes, begging him to interfere. Stoick merely shook his head and kept listening closely to his son. He knew what she was worried about – Hiccup hadn't lived with the man for the five years that had passed. He had another view on him than they did, but maybe that was a good thing.

"I thought it would benefit _all_ of us," Eret hissed back at him. Gobber and Spitelout's grip tightened slightly as he tried to move towards the heir – forgetting that he was about to be imprisoned. "The council decides together to avoid a one-sided opinion-

"You weren't there when Alvin was," Hiccup said calmer than before, which sent chills down everyone's spine. They knew it was no good if he got that calm. Slowly, he handed Aiden over to Astrid and made his way towards him. "You didn't see what the rest of us saw."

"It was the same with Drago, wasn't it?" Eret grumbled at him and seemed to back up a bit from the intimidating heir. He really set himself on the wrong path and he knew it very well.

"In a way," Hiccup nodded and stopped a few feet away from him. "But that doesn't change the fact that it was irrational of you – You weren't thinking about the good of the people-if you were, you would have no problem helping us when you first spotted us in the woods."

Eret stayed silent, and for the longest of time, the two glared into each other's eyes.

"I haven't known you for as long as the rest of Berk has," Hiccup said bitterly. "So, I don't want to be the one _judging_ whether what you're doing is good or bad – it wouldn't be fair," he slowly turned away from him and headed back towards the table. "Just know that I don't trust you one bit."

Stoick looked over at Gobber who gave him a questioning look. "I'm not changing my mind," He muttered and looked over at the members of the council. "Until everything has calmed down, Eret son of Eret will be sentenced a week to prison for committing treason."

Spitelout and Gobber nodded and dragged the now silent Eret with them to the doors.

"As for my son," Stoick spoke up, looking sideways at Hiccup whose eyes went to his right away – shocked. "He will be sentenced to a night in prison for going behind the Council's back."

Almost right away, the elders started to discuss with each other and Hiccup's friends begged the chief to take it back. Astrid looked at Stoick pleadingly, but he met no one's gaze.

Hiccup stayed silent, his eyes slowly narrowing as he looked back at the fire. His eyes met Viggo's for a moment, before he finally nodded and agreed, and the hall went silent.

 _"As you wish."_

Hiccup fiddled with his prosthetic calmly as he sat in the hard and cold cell. Toothless laid outside along with Eret's dragon – both guarding the prison door. They weren't allowed inside – both because they were supposed to serve their time alone to reflect on what happened, and the fact that neither would fit inside. The old prison wasn't exactly made for dragons after all.

At first, when his father gave him his sentence – he was quite surprised. He didn't expect to receive anything – his father knew _why_ he did it and _why_ he went behind their backs. He _understood_ everything.

But then it occurred to him;

 _He was trying to make it fair and balanced._

It brought him back old memories of when he was training at Bog-Burglars island together with Camicazi and her mother, and the chieftain, Big-boobied Bertha. She was quite intimidating at times, but she was for the most part wise when one saw past it.

Bertha taught him everything his father hadn't – She taught him how the laws worked, how the people was the top priority no matter what, how the livestock was almost as important as filling the people's need, but most importantly – she taught him the _right_ way to rule and the _right_ way to satisfy others.

 _And balance was one of them._

And Hiccup only realized now that balance was exactly what Stoick was trying to create – especially after the uproar from Eret's men after the news went around about his prosecution. If Eret was the only one to be judged for committing treason, it would create a certain unbalance that they didn't have _time_ and _resources_ to take care of. It wasn't their biggest problem at hand.

Some Vikings were still upset that Hiccup only had to serve a night's stay in the cold pit, but Stoick had assured him when he and his mother led him to the prison that it was for the best even if it didn't seem like it.

 _But Hiccup understood and didn't resist._

The cell didn't bring back only memories of earlier that day – but also the earlier stages in his life. He wasn't sure if his father had realized – or if it was on purpose, that he was thrown into the same cell he _always_ stayed in when his father had enough. Did his mother even know about it?

The cell brought back the horrified moments of his youth – the time when the Vikings could sometimes come inside and throw rocks at him for whatever he had done – even if there hadn't been a casualty. Hiccup was sure everyone on Berk had lined up those days.

 _It seemed to be the highlight of the week._

Hiccup could recall all the places he was hit – how he counted the stones thrown in different spots. At least Gobber made sure to humiliate whoever threw at his head, though.

The stones weren't the only events that happened in what _should_ have been a peaceful sentence – they yelled at him, tormented him, _spat_ at him. Some even threw rotten fish that he was his only company through the rest of his stay – he never had the heart to throw them out. He just saw himself in the fish and imagined it as himself once he had passed on to the next life and how his body would be left behind in the world – rotted and thrown around like a piece of garbage.

Blood was an all too familiar stench that still lingered in the prison – Hiccup wasn't sure if it was because of the memories or if it _really_ smelled of the iron, red substance. Most nights, he would be left in the cell with nothing but the warmth of his own blood to work as a makeshift bed for his aching body.

Every memory he had of the cell led back to his father – like a glowing path inprinted in his mind to remind him _he_ was the reason behind all that torture he face for many years. Even so, he had managed to convince him and himself that they could trust each other and live in peace – something he had always tried to do when he faced an enemy of his.

He never wanted to war with anyone; not Alvin; not Drago. And for some reason, he still didn't want to bring a new one upon Drago's follower – who sat right across from his cell, not daring to look his way.

Hiccup wasn't sure if he would be sane if he had to spend a week in the cell. Then again, Eret hadn't gone through the same as him. That still didn't push away the fact that he probably did _have_ a history with prison cells and _what_ it meant to him.

Because prison wasn't meant for this – it wasn't meant to lock away someone for such a small treason they both had committed (in his opinion at least). Prison always left a mark – no matter how long the stay – a minute or a year.

It was meant to lock away the dangerous people in the world, and Hiccup highly doubted that if everyone could trust Eret for five years, he wasn't one of them. But even so, the feeling of betrayal lingered inside him, and he couldn't quite understand why he hadn't settled on the right reason behind it.

The door slowly opened and a small frame next to a taller one stepped inside. Hiccup looked up as he heard a faint squeal and cry.

Aiden ran up to his cell and whimpered, trying to reach through and to his father. "Pa-papa!" He whimpered.

Hiccup sighed softly and put his leg back on. He crawled over to him and took his hands on his with a sad smile. "Hey, you," he hummed and stroked them.

Aiden kept crying and weeping – not understanding why his father was locked away. His father was a good person!

Astrid looked over at Eret who only turned away more, and then finally kneeled beside Aiden. She set down a basket which was covered by a cloth and then rubbed his back while Hiccup tried to calm him down.

"I'm okay," Hiccup chuckled and lifted his small hands to his cheek. "It's only for a little bit. Your father has been really naughty!"

Aiden whimpered and tried to move closer, but the bars held him back. "B-but papa..."

Hiccup stroked his hands and shook his head. "It's only for tonight. I'll be back out tomorrow to put you to bed with an adventurous story."

Aiden sniffled and slowly started to calm down. He looked into his eyes hopefully. "P-pwomise?" he whimpered.

Hiccup smiled and gently moved his hands to his cheeks. He stroked away the tears. "I promise. So until then, you'll have to take care of your mother okay?" he chuckled and looked up at Astrid who rolled her eyes playfully. "She's really tough and courageous, but even she needs a strong little fella like you to keep her well!"

Aiden giggled faintly at that and hugged Hiccup's hand. He leaned into his touch. "A-Aiden stwong!" He giggled. "I-I pwotect mama!"

Hiccup laughed and tickled his tummy with his other hand which made the boy squeal and pull back. He ran behind his mother and hid playfully.

Hiccup smiled at that and looked up at Astrid. "Any news?" He chuckled and pulled his hands back.

Astrid shook her head. "Not much, no," She sighed. "Your father got quite the beating from your mom though."

"Oh?" Hiccup laughed at that. "And how did that go?"

Astrid smiled and looked down at Aiden who playfully tried to play hide and seek with Hiccup as they spoke. "It was quite the sight. It's not every day that you see someone like your father get scolded and put in place by someone as small as your mother."

Hiccup laughed. "I could only imagine. I do hope she didn't humiliate his pride though."

"She already did that years ago," Astrid laughed and gently took Hiccup hand in his. She played around with it. "The walls of the house aren't exactly soundproof."

"That's true," Hiccup nodded.

"It once scared away our dragons for a few days," She laughed at the memory. Hiccup looked at her surprised. "I know. I didn't think she had it in her too."

"Huh..." Hiccup grinned.

Astrid smiled and pulled Aiden up on her lap. The boy happily cuddled close and played with his little dragon. "So, you'll only stay here until...

"Tomorrow morning," Hiccup chuckled. "Maybe a little out on the day depending when they need me. I'm expecting a new meeting tomorrow about the mysterious island." Astrid nodded. "Did they say anything more about it or discuss it...?"

Astrid shook her head. "Stoick mentioned he was considering sending some scouts out, but Snotlout said they should wait and hear with you. What do you think?"

Hiccup thought for a bit. "I'm not sure. I was pretty much unconscious when we were there, so I know nothing more than you do. Snotlout and Viggo know the most – has he said anything else?"

"Who, Viggo?" Astrid looked up at him, suddenly tensing up a bit. Eret slowly shifted in his cell and Hiccup had the impression that he was listening.

"Yeah," Hiccup nodded. Even so, it wasn't exactly a secret topic.

Astrid shook her head. "Not that I have heard. He has just confirmed Snotlout's story and talked about how he ended up there. He's not sure how you ended up on the island though."

Hiccup nodded slowly. "I see..." he murmured and smiled as Aiden wanted him to play with his dragon for a bit.

While he was distracted, Astrid took her chance to look over her shoulder and at Eret who was watching them quietly. She sighed and stroked Aiden's head quietly. She could feel how jealous, but mostly sad he was. They had been pretty serious about raising Aiden together, but then suddenly those dreams were taken away from him.

Eret looked at her sadly, before finally turning away. In her eyes, it looked as if he had given up completely. It reminded her what he had told her – what he had _warned_ her about. Did they bring it up in the meeting before she arrived? She would have to talk with him when Hiccup was out and busy, but for now, she had to know.

"Do you trust him?" Astrid asked quietly – less casual than she wanted to seem.

Hiccup raised his head and looked at her as she looked back at him. He slowly looked over at Eret.

"Viggo," Astrid added.

"Oh," Hiccup looked back at her and nodded faintly. "Yeah. He hasn't given me a reason not to."

"But...doesn't that sound a bit sketchy?" Astrid bit her lip.

Hiccup looked into her eyes. "Don't you trust him?"

Astrid grimaced a bit. "Well, I don't _know_ him as well as you do..."

Hiccup chuckled. "I guess there's that." He nodded. "He was banished by his own people and sentenced to that-whatever that Island is. I think he has a right to start over again-and we're able to give him that second chance."

Astrid nodded slowly and smiled. "You're right," she held his hand tightly. Hiccup eyed her. Something was off... "I brought you two some food," She smiled and took the basket she brought with her. She moved away the cloth and took out a piece of bread and some milk. She handed him some on a plate, along with a chicken leg, and did the same with Eret.

Hiccup smiled and took her hand when she sat down again. He kissed it lovingly. "Thank you," he hummed with a smile.

Astrid smiled and held his hand tightly.

"U-uncle?" Aiden looked up as he noticed Eret in the cell behind his mother. He scrambled out of her arms and ran to the bars. "Uncle!"

Eret looked up at him sadly. His eyes met Astrid's and he slowly shook his head. The little boy watched him confused and worried. Why was his uncle locked up too? He was a good person!

"Mama," Aiden whimpered and tried to shake open the bars. Astrid sighed and looked at Hiccup who had tensed up. Why was he calling him that?

"I think we should head back to the house before your mother strangles Stoick," She joked faintly, but there was no laughter. She packed the basket, put it under her arm and gently tore the crying Aiden away from the bars. Then she walked out without another word.

Hiccup sighed and the two shared a short glance. He slowly leaned back against the cold wall and stared at the closing door. Prison always left a memory.

 _Always._


	12. Chapter 12

_Bread. Fish. Chicken. Jewelry._

Hiccup watched the Villagers nervously as they stepped inside one after another – children holding a precious gift that were set inside his cell after a short prayer on their knees. He had tried to stop them – he really had. His father tried as well – but most of them wouldn't listen.

Vikings weren't the religious people in particular – sure they had rituals and followed old traditions regarding worshipping of their Gods, but they didn't spend every day praying for a better life.

Hiccup was quite surprised when the first person was allowed inside – an old lady had brought him freshly baked buns with her own family's recipe. Needlessly, he was grateful for the thought, but he didn't realize before another ten people came with their same, family tradition on a plate or in a basket or when they came and wished him to bless their family with wealth and luck.

It worried him, but most of all, he was curious. The meeting with the strongest believers on Berk hadn't gone well, and yet – some had come down to ask of a blessing or simply pray before him.

It was as if he was the bridge between the humans of Midgard to the Gods in Valhalla.

Hiccup wasn't sure if he should feel honored or beg them all to stop, but he knew for sure that he had a lot of expectations to live up to now. And _that_ worried him for sure.

His father was the one to release him that afternoon – he was sure he would have been out way earlier if it wasn't for whatever had gone through everyone's mind that morning. Of course, he couldn't leave anything behind – it would send the wrong message to the Villagers.

Stoick suggested that they took it up to their home, but Hiccup didn't agree.

"I think we should bring it up to the Great Hall," Hiccup shook his head. "Winter is arriving and we'll need all the supplies we can-

"Son," Stoick sighed and looked around them. "This isn't just a celebration." Hiccup looked up at him. "They are putting their very faith in you – in the Gods."

Hiccup's eyes saddened. "I'm not-

"I know," Stoick chuckled faintly and leaned down to pick up some jewelry. "Gods, if anyone would have told me you would have been this worshipped ten years ago-

"You'd ship them off the edge of the earth and call them lunatics," Hiccup rolled his eyes faintly and looked at the necklace in his hands. "It's not that-it's not right. I should be anything _but_ worshipped. I-I don't even remember anything-All I know is from the stories I've heard by Astrid and Snotlout."

Stoick sighed and stayed silent. After a moment of thoughts, he laid the necklace down and looked at the Vikings who were watching them outside and listening in. He nodded them in so they could help carry. "Take it to the Great Hall."

"Aye, Chief," They grunted and looked Hiccup in a new way he had never seen before – they had always been so mad and annoyed at him or happy and relieved, but now... They seemed frightened. Were they afraid that he really was...Thor? That his body was just a familiar meat-suit, so he could judge them closely?

Hiccup _hated_ it. He realized.

All of his life, he had strived to become – to feel and be accepted as one of them. And now? He was right back at the beginning. Or so it felt like.

Hiccup shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He then looked at his father who was watching them go in and pick up one after another. "Dad." Stoick looked at him. "Let me lead the evening."

Stoick eyed him carefully and received two determined eyes in return. It was the same determination he remembered in his younger years – when Hiccup had tried his very best, but failed, to fight and defend Berk. After a reluctant nod, he cleared his throat and laughed faintly. "Maybe you can become the next chief sooner than expected," he wiggled his eyebrows and patted his back before he grabbed a share of the food to carry as well.

Hiccup blushed. "I-I didn't mean it like that-It's not like I...I-It's not like they would-

Stoick laughed. "I was joking, son. I won't rush you," he smiled and started to walk outside. "I've learnt my lesson," he sighed and shook his head before he headed after the Vikings.

Hiccup looked after him sadly. He couldn't feel himself move at all – barely breathe even. Did his father think he would stay forever? He wasn't even sure himself.

With a sigh, he shook his head and rubbed his hands anxiously. He was about to walk outside when he realized the one who had silently shared the prison with him that night. He slowly stopped and looked over at Eret's cell.

There was barely any light in the prison – the only fair share was from the torches, but now also from the little bit of daylight that escaped the open door. His body was curled up with a blanket – a pillow firmly against the stone wall. At first glance, it would look as if the male was deep asleep, but Hiccup knew he was anything but.

This was _torture_ for him.

This wasn't just a sentence.

Hiccup slowly took some food out of one of the remaining baskets and put together a meal on one of the many handcrafted plates he was also gifted. He carefully placed it inside his cell and asked if someone would be able to fetch him something to drink as well.

It wasn't before Eret realized he was the topic of the small conversation that he turned to look over his shoulder. At first, it gave him a new view of the young heir – ever since he had returned it was as if he had a grudge against him. But now? He looked as worried as Astrid, even.

"You should eat," Hiccup said and pushed the plate further in.

Eret eyed him carefully. He slowly sat up more, the pillow falling down behind him. He straightened up. "Wouldn't it be a disgrace to hand it to _someone_ like _me_?"

Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "We've clearly gotten off on the wrong foot here," he murmured. "And I know it's mostly my fault, so I want to apologize. This night...it gave me some time to think."

Eret watched him. He slowly reached out for the plate and began eating without another word.

"I know I shouldn't put up any excuses," Hiccup said and leaned against the cage. "I don't want to drive you through that row either. The only excuse I think would be fitting to share...I thought you and Astrid had something going on," he laughed faintly. Eret stopped. "Crazy right?"

Eret slowly looked up at the man. Almost too noticeable, he nodded and ate right away. Just one glance at the heir's eyes told him he was anything but laughing on the inside. "Yeah, that's pretty crazy," he muttered while chewing some bread.

Hiccup eyed him. "Yeah," he smiled and shook his head. "I know you have changed since that day – It just...For you it might have been years, but for me it feels like it just happened." He sighed and looked at the floor. "I'm not used to this either – me being back here. I know you're probably not, too."

Eret ate quietly.

Hiccup sighed again, seeing as he wouldn't get much of a conversation out of him. "I'm just saying – I'm _willing_ to _trust_ you. I don't have a valid reason not to – on the background of everyone else's thoughts, I'm sure."

Eret slowly looked up at him again.

"I don't know what that trust will mean for you – for us," Hiccup straightened up from the bars and pulled back. "But I do hope we can stop whatever is between us right now – whatever imaginary grudge with both seem to have."

Eret stayed silent for a moment. He slowly nodded, lowering his food. "That would be nice."

Hiccup smiled at that. "I'm glad. I don't ask for your trust, but it wouldn't be bad to receive something in return," he said and made his way towards the door. "Just think about it at least."

Eret nodded and watched the Viking leave. He shook his head faintly and looked down at the bread in his hands. What _would_ the trust mean between them? Did it mean he could share everything – about him and Astrid, and their plans – about their suspicion of Viggo? No. Trust took a long time to build.

 _He couldn't ruin it now._

"HICUUUUUUUP!"

Hiccup's head shot up at the sound and he grimaced. Fishlegs ran after him with a high-pitched squeak. When the larger Viking finally made it up to him, he halted and grabbed his shoulders.

"I am so sorry!" Fishlegs whined. "I don't know if I told them or if I told someone else-or if Meatlug said anything!" he whimpered.

Hiccup laughed faintly. "Fishlegs," he gently took his hands away. "It's fine. I know it wasn't you."

"And I told-wait, what?" Fishlegs looked at him puzzled. "How do you know? _I_ don't even know!"

"It's a gut feeling-don't ask," Hiccup stopped him with a chuckle. "I know you wouldn't-even though I _also_ know how horrible of a secret keeper you are." Fishlegs whimpered. Hiccup smiled and shook his head. "I wouldn't be mad if you did. It had to come out one day."

Fishlegs looked over his shoulder for a moment before he nodded absently at the Viking. Hiccup soon noticed and trailed off. He tried to look behind him, but Fishlegs grabbed his shoulders. "Fishlegs!"

Fishlegs whimpered and fiddled with his feet. "We-We-The Twins! Yes-they uh-they burnt the academy..." he murmured. "We-we really need some help!"

Hiccup sighed at that and ran a hand over his face. So much for wanting to spend some time to help Gobber in the forge. "They haven't changed at all, have they?"

"No...?" Fishlegs whimpered unsure.

Hiccup grumbled slightly and started to walk to the academy since Toothless was off to Thor knows where. "Alright, let's have a look."

Just as they walked down the bridge to the academy, there was a loud explosion coming from the ring – big clouds of black smoke erupted from the fire. Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at each other before the two started to run the rest of the way. And when they came there – Hiccup didn't feel surprised at all.

"Oh yeah baby!" Tuffnut laughed and blew up another barrel with a flaming arrow. He was hanging from the chains above, just enough to get his face lightly coated in soot.

"Barf, Belch-fire!" Ruffnut laughed and threw and empty barrel up in the air. Hadn't it been for gravity, the barrel would have exploded in her twin's face.

Tuffnut looked a bit puzzled before he threw his fists up – _down._ "That almost blew my head off!" He yelled excitedly. "Do it again!"

Hiccup grabbed the barrel Ruffnut reached out for and watched her fall face first on the ground before him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Wow...Is he really as tall as everyone says he is?" Ruffnut murmured as he looked at him from below.

Hiccup groaned and facepalmed. "Get up with you," he grumbled and set the barrel aside.

Soon a red Monstrous Nightmare hoovered over them and landed on the edge. It crawled up on the chains which had them sway faintly. "What is all this destruction-oh," Snotlout muttered as he saw Tuffnut hanging. "Why am I even surprised?"

Tuffnut grinned at him.

Soon Toothless landed outside the arena. He skipped inside and up beside his rider, sharing a confused glance with Hiccup.

"It's alright buddy," Hiccup assured him, rubbing his head. The dragon cooed and looked up.

"How's it hanging, T?" Tuffnut winked.

Toothless looked at him unamused. He charged a very small plasma blast up at the chains so that the troublemaker fell in one of the barrels. He laughed at the sight.

"Woah," Tuffnut groaned in awe as he looked at himself. "I'm really stuck-hey sis! Try to pull me out!"

Ruffnut grinned. "I'll try," She jogged up to him and kicked the barrel over so he was on his side. Then she started to roll him and kick him around between her and their dragon.

Hiccup crossed his arms and looked at Toothless who was watching pretty amused. The dragon's ears soon went flat as he felt his stare and he looked up. "Are you not going to do anything about it?" He muttered.

Toothless looked at Barf and Belch as they picked Tuffnut up and threw him at Ruffnut who of course fell at the weight. He merely just cooed and sat down – and the game kept going.

Hiccup groaned. "Well, we have to at least get the arena cleaned up before my father finds out," He said and looked at Snotlout and Fishlegs who were pretending he didn't mean them. He sighed and grabbed a bucket. He handed it to Toothless who right away flew down to the sea below to fetch water. Then he picked up a broom and started to work.

Fishlegs looked at Snotlout who was soon thrown down into the arena by Hookfang. "Oh, come on!" The Viking grumbled at his dragon before he too, reluctantly, grabbed a broom and started to help his cousin.

Fishlegs took this opportunity to run back to the village.

"Oh, H!" Tuffnut said, holding up his finger. He was stumbling towards him – finally free from the now broken barrel.

Hiccup stopped and raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes, Tuffnut?"

Tuffnut grinned at him. "I bet ya can't beat us at racing anymore!"

Hiccup eyed him before he grinned too. "Is that so?" He hummed faintly.

Snotlout slowly stopped and looked at the two.

"Throughout the years – Ruffnut and I have been scored the best dragon riders," Tuffnut hummed and pointed his thumb at himself. "There's no way you can retake that title, Hiccup Haddock."

"Oh wow, you know my full name," Hiccup laughed and laid the broom down.

"Do NOT underestimate my knowledge, good sir!" Tuffnut said offended, puffing out his chest.

"As if you have any," Snotlout laughed and walked up to them. "I'll beat you two in no time."

"So, it's a challenge then?" Hiccup hummed and eyed the three of them as they grinned at him. "Tomorrow morning," he pointed down. "Right here at sunrise. Don't be late."

"You've got it, H!" Tuffnut laughed and grabbed the broom from him. Instead of using it himself, he threw it at his sister and started to pick up the pieces of wood sprawled around everywhere.

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head. "I can't say I haven't missed the two," he smiled at Snotlout and took the bucket from Toothless when he was back. He put out some of the fires before the Night Fury was off to fetch more.

"Oh, I can," Snotlout muttered as the two started to fight again. Hiccup just rolled his eyes with a smile and continued to clean.

"Good afternoon, Mi'lady," Hiccup hummed as he walked inside his house. She sat by the fire with vegetables as she prepared them some dinner.

The shield maiden looked up with a smile. "Good afternoon. I see you've been freed," She laughed and kissed his cheek as he sat down beside her. Toothless walked upstairs quietly and decided to rest and watch the sleeping boy upstairs. "Did you annoy them that much?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes playfully. He grabbed a knife and a potato and started to peel away the skin. "I'll let you know that I, for _once_ , wasn't the annoying one," he chuckled. "And I had to help the twins clean up after their mess in the arena."

"They started blowing up stuff again?" Astrid looked at him amused. Hiccup looked at her.

"They didn't before...?" Astrid shook her head and grinned.

"Must be the Hiccupy flair," She laughed and leaned against his shoulder while she peeled a new potato. Hiccup pouted at her.

"I remember I was strictly against their destruction of the village," Hiccup said and cut the potato in half. Then he put it in the bowl with the others. "Or do we not come from the same universe?"

"Well, did they destroy stuff anyways?" Astrid smiled and put one in as well. She grabbed a carrot and began peeling it.

"Yeah, they did," Hiccup hummed and stopped for a moment as he thought. "They would often burn up the houses and blame the dragons. And they would do their Loki tricks as their highlight of the day."

"Hm..." Astrid bit her lip before she popped a p in a "Nope." She cut it into pieces over the bowl and started to wash the vegetables with clean water. "I think we're from different universes."

Hiccup looked at her amused. He leaned over her and laid a clean-cut potato in the bucket. "If that is so," he hummed against her ear. "How were _we_ in your universe?" he grinned.

Astrid laughed and rinsed it as well. "Let me see..." She hummed and thought. "I remember you were always nervous and clumsy around me before we even thought about going anywhere near touching."

Hiccup laughed at that.

"And I remember when we did, we never did it in public," She hummed at the memories. "It was really nice – It kept us in a low profile and everyone seemed to be okay with it too."

Hiccup slowly moved his arm around her waist. "What else?"

Astrid giggled. "What an impatient boy you are." Hiccup grinned at that.

"I guess, I wasn't like that in your world?" He joked.

Astrid nodded. "You were straight forward when needed to – except for when it came to a few gifts here and there. You were no better liar than Fishlegs!"

"Oh, really?" Hiccup laughed. "That must have been horrible."

Astrid shrugged her shoulders. "I liked it," She smiled and looked up at him. "And what about you? How were _we_ in your universe?"

Hiccup smiled down at her and pulled her body closer. "It was like _Valhalla_ , that's for sure."

"Hm," Astrid smiled even more. She slowly moved her hands out and dried them on her pants. Then she sat up a bit more and moved her hands to his hair while he spoke.

"Especially those nights you had come over at night to sleep in my bed," Hiccup laughed. "Despite you kicking me off in the middle of the night and getting bounced on by Toothless."

"Did he think I was an attacker?" Astrid grinned although she knew very well.

"One of the toughest we had ever met," Hiccup nodded. "You wrestled him like a true shield maiden."

Astrid laughed at that. She twirled the hair around her fingers. "What else happened those nights?" She hummed and moved closer.

Hiccup smiled and played with her spikey skirt. "We'd talk about the day and our lives – the good times and the bad times," He hummed and felt her move on to grab more hair.

"Did we do anything else?" Astrid smiled and looked into his eyes.

"We did," Hiccup smiled and closed his eyes. "We'd kiss and cuddle, as cheesy as it sounds to admit."

"It must have been a nice, cheesy cuddle," Astrid hummed.

"It was," Hiccup chuckled faintly. "Those nights were the best even though they happened so rarely. I would have died to get back to that."

"But you already did that," Astrid laughed faintly and fixed a third braid.

"True," Hiccup nodded and reached up to feel the braids, but Astrid slapped his hand away playfully. He chuckled and watched her concentrated, adorable face. "Do you think we could combine those universes?" He hummed.

Astrid looked into his eyes with a grin. She leaned in and kissed his lips. "I know we can, Dragon boy."

Hiccup hummed happily at that and pulled her against his body. He caressed her cheek and kissed her back lovingly. No one was there to break them apart. No one was there to tear away their moment – their alone time. It was just the two of them in their own dreamland, creating a warm and welcoming dinner for their family.

Hiccup couldn't ask for anything more.

That was of course until he remembered what he had suggested to his father.

 _He would lead the feast this evening._

Hiccup gulped at the thought.

Astrid frowned a bit at that. "Something wrong?" She looked up at him and let go as she finished his third braid. He grimaced.

"Well...I sort of, kind of...My dad he uh-the village they gave me these gifts and I thought we could share them with the village," Hiccup murmured and leaned forward. He rested his forehead against her shoulder.

Astrid tilted her head a bit at that. She moved her fingers through his auburn locks to soothe him down. He was clearly nervous. "And how does that make you feel?"

"Well, I sort of said I could take the lead too," Hiccup chuckled faintly. "So, yeah. I'm pretty nervous."

"Hm," Astrid pursed her lips for a moment. "What are you going to do about it?"

"My emotions or the feast?" Hiccup murmured against her shoulder and just enjoyed her touch.

"Both," Astrid laughed. "But mostly the feast."

Hiccup sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Probably embarrass myself and shake it off with a laugh."

"You could do that," Astrid nodded. "Make your image worsen – make everyone believe you're not exactly a fitting _prophet_ – create chaos in the village-

"Okay, maybe not," Hiccup gulped at the thought. He stayed silent for a moment. "Do you think Gobber and his band still works?" he said as an idea popped up in his mind. He pulled back and looked at her eagerly.

Astrid laughed at that. She moved her hands down to his cheeks and squeezed them playfully. "You know Gobber. When he gets a moment to sing, he'll do it ten times harder than you'd expect."

Hiccup grinned between the squeezing of his cheeks. "Then that's all I need," He pecked her lips and not even a moment passed before he ran out the door to search for the Blacksmith.

Astrid laughed at that. She shook her head and continued to prepare the dinner.

Hiccup smiled to himself as he jogged down the stairs and through the plaza. "Excuse me," he chuckled as he squeezed past some Vikings. "Coming through," He said and stumbled out of the small crowd.

"Hookfang, fetch!"

Suddenly a dragon grabbed him by his shoulders and lifted him up from the air.

"Woah, woah-Hookfang?" Hiccup groaned and held onto the legs tightly. He tried to get a look at his rider. "Snotlout-I don't have time for this!" He muttered at him.

Snotlout peeked down at his cousin amused. "What's more important than spending some quality time with your cousin?"

"You? Me? _Quality time_?" Hiccup crossed his arms. Snotlout just laughed and led him up towards the Great Hall.

"Come on, cus! We need to prepare for the feast," Snotlout hummed and looked behind him for a moment. He sighed relieved.

Hiccup glared up at him when they finally landed. "Is Gobber here?" he murmured and walked inside. The shorter Viking jumped off the dragon and jogged after him.

"Last time I checked, he already downed a few drinks," Snotlout chuckled and led him past the firepit and to where he was ordering Vikings around for decorations.

"Doesn't look too drunk to me," Hiccup muttered as they walked up to him. "Gobber!"

Gobber turned around, almost falling over. He leaned against the table, struggling to keep his prosthetic cup up straight. "Ay lad!" He laughed. "Wanna grab a few drinks with us tonight?"

"Oh ho ho, no," Hiccup shook his head and held up his hands in defense. "That didn't go very well last time."

"It didn't?" Snotlout raised an eyebrow at him.

Hiccup just rolled his eyes and helped the Viking stand. "I guess you're not capable of singing tonight-

"Singing?" Gobber yelled out happily. "Did someone say-AND I'VE GOT MY AXE, AND I'VE GOT MY MACE-"

"Oh Thor..." Hiccup groaned as the Viking started to dance around with him. He managed to slip out of his grip, and the Viking kept bouncing around happily while shouting out the song.

"Well, he can still sing," Snotlout shrugged his shoulders.

"You call _that_ singing?" Hiccup stared at him.

"LOVE MY WIFE WITH AND UGLY-

"You don't even have a wife," Snotlout groaned and covered his ears.

"What is all this yelling and-oh," Stoick muttered as he saw Gobber. He walked up beside Hiccup who held his hands up together with Snotlout.

"We didn't give him anything," Hiccup said truthfully.

Stoick sighed and rubbed his eyes. He took the Blacksmith's cup, but was yanked in by the Viking and the two looked as if they were dancing. "Gobber!" Stoick yelled at the Viking who only started to sing louder.

Hiccup laughed at the sight.

"Oh my," Valka laughed as she saw them. She walked up beside Hiccup. "I wouldn't expect him to cheat on me with Gobber," she joked.

"I could expect it the other way around, to be honest," Hiccup laughed and watched them finally break free. Stoick tore the prosthetic out of his hand and fixed his own helmet. He looked around a bit embarrassed as he saw Vikings had stopped to watch.

"What are ye doing? Get back to work!" Stoick yelled at them and went back to ordering them around.

"Wooh, I think I'll have to sit down for a bit," Gobber laughed, wiped his forehead and fell down on the bench behind him.

Valka shook her head with a smile. "I think you've had enough for today," She said and took the prosthetic before he could put it back on. She then helped him take his hook out of his belt – he always kept it there for whatever reason.

Hiccup watched the two with a smile. "Mom?" He walked up to her while she put it on.

"Yes?" Valka looked up.

"Do you...can we talk?" Hiccup murmured slightly and eyed the two Vikings.

Snotlout sighed and mentally bit his tongue off. "I'll make sure he doesn't drink anything."

Valka smiled and nodded at him. She followed Hiccup over to the hidden room of the Great Hall where they still kept the Dragon Book.

Hiccup looked at it in awe. There were a lot more pages added to it and notes inside. He went over to it and carefully opened the cover to have a look.

Valka closed the door quietly behind her. "What did you want to..." She slowly trailed off as she saw him. With a small smile, she walked up beside him and rested her hand on his back. They looked through it together.

"A new specie," Hiccup murmured in awe. He moved his fingers carefully over the picture. The dragon was spiked up, but slim. It's eyes seemed almost untamable and it was drawn with a lot of thunder around it. "A Skrill..."

Valka smiled and nodded. "Mhm," She hummed and watched him read through the details for himself. "I wrote as much as I could, but there's still a lot to learn about it. No one has ever been near one and lived to tell the tale," she laughed.

"Incredible..." Hiccup said in awe. There were still so many species they didn't know of – and it relieved him. He still had so much he could discover and research.

"It's very unique," Valka kept going. "It creates the thunder and the lightning in the storms and always travels along with them. They don't let anyone control them either – just like the babies," she laughed.

"So an alpha won't...?" Valka nodded. Hiccup looked at it surprised.

"They have a very strict mind of their own. It's like the Thor's very own dragon," Valka smiled and moved her fingers through his hair for a moment. She laughed as she saw the braids. "What are these?" she smiled and played with them.

Hiccup blushed embarrassed. "Astrid likes to...yeah," he murmured and closed the book.

"I see," Valka giggled and pulled back.

"I wanted to talk to you about her too," Hiccup said with a small smile. "Tonight...I want to make it special for us both, but I don't know how to..."

Valka smiled at that. She laid her hand on his heart. "You do know. Deep down," she smiled, and Hiccup looked down at his chest. He slowly laid his hand on hers. "Do you know the story of how your father and I came to be madly in love with each other?"

Hiccup shook his head slightly and looked into her eyes. "Could you tell me?"

Valka smiled and held his hand tightly. She started to whistle softly.

Hiccup's head lifted slightly as he recognized it. That song...She used to sing it for him as a baby – it was almost like a lullaby for him.

"Do you remember it?" Valka giggled at his face. Hiccup nodded eagerly.

"You used to sing it to me, didn't you?" Hiccup smiled at her.

Valka nodded. "Every night there was a raid," she hummed. "But also every year as your father and I had an anniversary."

"You mean...?"

Valka nodded. "It was how he proposed to me," she smiled absently at the memory. "He was really nervous and couldn't even remember the words," she laughed. "It was the first time I saw him so embarrassed."

Hiccup chuckled at that.

"Even though he had sang it many times before, he really messed it up that day," Valka giggled. "I still love him though, even if he messes up sometimes and even if he can be as stubborn as a rock. It always breaks through to him."

"Do you think I should...?" Hiccup murmured faintly. He was pretty unsure now. He didn't exactly want to mess anything up.

Valka smiled and pulled him into his arms. "You do what you feel is the best. Just remember that doing nothing is the only thing that will hurt," She whispered and kissed his forehead. Hiccup leaned into her touch with a smile and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, mom," Hiccup whispered and closed his eyes.

Valka closed her eyes as well and held him close. "I'm so glad you're back..." she whispered and felt Hiccup smile even more.

 _"Me too, mom. Me too."_

And so, the evening came quicker than expected. All the preparing and the long dining with his family took up the rest of the day and before Hiccup knew it – he stood in front of everyone, about to give them his first speech.

Everyone was settling down and getting themselves a drink or two which relieved Hiccup – the mood wasn't tense in their eyes unlike in his. The atmosphere was lively as well – the only way that it could disappear was if he messed it up.

And Hiccup was almost sure he would.

"Hey," Astrid hummed as she walked up beside him. She took the cup of alcohol that he was very tempted to drink, out of his hand and set it down on the table. Hiccup looked up at her. "You know it's not good for you. _Especially_ you."

Hiccup chuckled faintly. "Yeah, I'm sorry," He shook his head and slowly leaned against the table. "I'm just nervous."

"And you think some mead will help you?" Astrid laughed and watched Aiden happily run off to play with his friends.

"Maybe with my fears, yeah," Hiccup laughed. "Behavior? Maybe not so much."

"And what would be worst?" Astrid raised an eyebrow and took a sip. She hissed slightly at the strong taste and Hiccup pouted.

"Probably the second," Hiccup murmured like a baby. Astrid laughed at that and set the cup down again. The two then watched the villagers around them in silence. The music hadn't even started yet and most seemed to already be dancing and laughing.

"There he is!" A little girl squealed and pointed their way behind a bigger Viking. Another little child peeked out from his hiding spot and squealed.

"I want to meet him!" He said excitedly to his friend.

Hiccup chuckled at that. He watched them both together with Astrid and kneeled when they finally decided to come over. "How are you two doing this evening?" he smiled and petted the small baby dragons in their arms.

The little girl squealed. "T-this-this is Fungus!" She smiled happily and held her gronckle closer. The dragon licked her cheek and cooed.

"He's adorable," Hiccup smiled and tickled his belly. The little boy beside them held up his zippleback happily.

"Mongo and Prongo!" He giggled adorably and the zippleback reached out for Hiccup curiously.

Hiccup gently caressed their necks as he stroked them. "They are very adorable, all of them," He smiled and watched them. "But with dragons, comes big responsibilities, okay? It's important that you take care of them."

The two nodded eagerly and giggled. "Ca-can we be as good riders as you one day?" The girl smiled hopefully up at him.

Hiccup smiled and ruffled her hair. "I'm sure you'll be even better."

The two squealed happily and soon ran off to brag to their friends. Hiccup chuckled and slowly got up again. He brushed off his knees and looked at Astrid who was watching with a warm smile.

"I think you'll do amazing," Astrid hummed and kissed his lips which Hiccup gladly accepted. He pulled back shortly after and looked into her eyes.

"With you by my side," Hiccup grinned. "Always."

Astrid laughed and hugged him. She buried her face in his shoulder and just stayed close for a while. It wasn't until Stoick and Valka stepped up to them that she finally pulled away.

"Ready, son?" Stoick smiled and pulled out a chair.

Hiccup chuckled nervously. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Valka nodded proudly at him and held Stoick's hand. "Alright," Stoick slowly raised his other hand while Hiccup got up on the chair. "Attention!" The chief yelled out to get everyone out of their dreams and conversations and back into reality. Every eye fell on them and Hiccup felt as if he was about to faint from the pressure.

Astrid gently squeezed his hand to remind him that she was there and that everything would be alright. They shared a small smile before Stoick finally gave the word to his son and he spoke up. At first, his words came out as a crack and he excused himself with a laugh.

"I don't know what side of the bed I woke up on to _ask_ my father if I could lead this feast." A few Vikings chuckled at that. "And I don't know if I want to slap my morning self or to hug him," he smiled and looked out over the crowd. "But I do want to thank him."

"I didn't expect to be back – no one did," Hiccup said a bit more seriously. "And we don't know what the Gods above have planned for any of us. But whether it is bad or good, I know we will get through it," He smiled and the Vikings cheered. "We're Berkians. We get through every steep hill and every tall mountain as we were born to do."

"So I ask of you tonight, that we won't worry about our future and what might come," Hiccup slowly took up a piece of jewelry from his pocket that he was gifted that morning. "And I know many of you might feel betrayed and saddened for me to say this, but I _won't_ accept these gifts."

Hiccup swallowed thickly as the mood suddenly changed a bit and a few murmurs went around the hall. "I'm not a blessing sent by Thor or Odin himself," He looked down at the necklace and soon at his father – his family. "We've all been through a lot together, and I'm no better than any of you because I was _given_ a second chance to make things right. I can't _bless_ any of you."

"I'm still a person," Hiccup smiled at them. "I'm still a Berkian – a Viking just like you. So I ask of you tonight – don't treat me any differently. Let us share our food and our gifts with each other. Let us share a helping hand and warmth and a home to those in need. Not just tonight – but forever."

" _That_ is how we will bless _each other_ ," Hiccup said calmly and looked over at the Vikings as they started so smile again and realize. It didn't take long before the Vikings all around him cheered and yelled out – agreeing with the heir. He picked up a mug and held it up before him. "Let the feast began!"

Almost right away, the music started to play and Vikings were dancing more eagerly and energetic than before. Hiccup carefully jumped down from the chair. Astrid threw her arms around him and laughed.

"That was better than I expected," Hiccup laughed and held her close. "I think I overdid it-

"You sounded just like a chief," Astrid smiled proudly up at him. Stoick laughed and rested his hand on his shoulder. Hiccup looked up at him and his parents smiled proudly at him.

"The lass is right," Stoick smiled and pulled his family into his arms. "I'm so glad we're finally together as one, big family."

Toothless bounced over the crowd and in front of them happily with their dragons. They cuddled close as well and Valka laughed.

"A big family is very true!" They all laughed.

When the dragons finally pulled away and the music kept going in their ears, it didn't take long before Valka and Stoick excused themselves to the dancefloor.

Hiccup smiled and watched them. Toothless soon nudged his best friend closer to Astrid while Stormfly did the same to her. Their bodies pressed together a bit awkwardly at first, but the two settled and Hiccup gently took her hand. "Shall we?" He hummed.

Astrid giggled and took the mug out of his hand. She took both his hands in his. "We shall~" She smiled and dragged him to dance with the music in the big crowd of Vikings. All the sweat – all the alcohol – all the yelling. It was all blocked out the moment the two began to move and feast didn't die even past midnight.

Hiccup only first realized that this was what he had chosen – that this was what he had chosen over staying on that mysterious Island that could lead to his final downfall. And Hiccup realized just then, that he had chosen Valhalla over Helheim.

And he knew he would never regret it.

That was until someone came running inside and yelling the chilling words,

 _"Alvin's body is missing!"_

 **Wooohhh now it should spice some stuff up!**

 **I haven't read over this yet so I hope there aren't too many mistakes haha! (otherwise im suing words correcting system XD)**

 **What do you think will happen now?**

 **And...**

 **THIS IS INSANE!**

 **I HAVE WRITTEN 1/3 OF ESCAPE ALREADY SOMEONE TAKE THE KEYBOARD AWAY FROM MEEEEEEEEEE**

 **(No please don't, but what the actual heeeeek)**

 **If ya'll aren't satisfied about the lengths now then I don't even know anymore lol XD**

 **So I do hope you guys are satisfied and will hang on until next update which will hopefully be in less than two days!**

 **See ya then! :')**


	13. Chapter 13

_"Alvin's body is missing!"_

The whistle made an awful noise and the instruments slowly died down. Vikings lowered their mugs faintly and looked at the door – at least those who were still relatively sober.

Hiccup's eyes widened faintly as he investigated Astrid's who mimicked his own. He looked down at his son for a moment before he let go of their hands and made his way through the crowd to the man who stood at the front.

Viggo was panting heavily, leaning himself on his knees. "The-the guards-we need healers!" he called out desperately to the unfamiliar faces of the crowd. When Hiccup had pushed his way through, he looked at him afraid. Hiccup didn't even give him a chance to explain.

"S-show me," Hiccup said, and the Viking nodded. The two jogged out before anyone could comment. His father was hot on their heels and so was his friends, but Hiccup couldn't pay much attention to them.

 _Alvin was gone._

 _He was back._

The trip to the forest was quiet and tense – no one dared to talk except for Stoick who was giving out orders to his friends. The words didn't enter Hiccup's mind either. Alvin's return was the only thing his mind could think of – it was the only words on repeat over and over.

Toothless whined helplessly as he ran after them. He flew up above the trees and landed beside Hiccup, quickly catching up to his face. He crooned worriedly at his distressed friend, but Hiccup didn't answer.

The heir came to a stumble as he found himself in the clearing with Viggo. The two Vikings on watch were bruised up and their bodies damaged – their armor had been torn off. The blood was glistening in the moon light.

Hiccup fell down beside one of the guards and laid pressure on his heavy wound. The feeling of the blood gushing out beneath his palms made him want to puke – the liquid brought back too many memories.

Viggo was quick to mirror him on the other guard and his friends hurried up to help while the healer was still on their way. He glanced over at Hiccup and slowly stopped as he felt the blood beneath his palms. "H-he..." he whispered and looked down with wide eyes.

Stoick's eyes widened as he realized. He went beside the Viking and watched as the younger male checked for any vital signs. But his face told it all.

 _He was dead._

Hiccup felt the tears sting in his eyes. He pressed harder and yelled for them to come help him with the Viking by his legs. The twins were trying their best, but because of their lack of training in medicine, they were pushed aside by Fishlegs and Snotlout who immediately managed to aid their friend.

Stoick slowly took off his helmet and held it at his chest. He sighed and closed his eyes sadly. The healer, Kenna, came sprinting together with Valka. They understood almost right away, after overlooking the scene quickly, that the person by Viggo's side was gone. Without thinking twice, they went to aid Hiccup whose hands were still firmly on the man's wound.

"Hiccup," His mother tried to get his attention. She laid her hand on his forearm. "Let us," she whispered, looking into his eyes sadly.

Hiccup's hands trembled slightly as he looked into her eyes. He didn't know what to do – if he pulled away his hands, he was afraid the man would die as well. But if he didn't, they wouldn't be able to help him either.

Slowly, Snotlout tore his hands away from the wound and replaced them with his own. He laid pressure while Valka pulled her son away from the victim. Kenna quickly gave him instructions while Valka was busy.

Fishlegs helped them get the proper light they needed with the torches he brought and gave one to the chief as well. He lit them up and carefully, without thinking of the consequences, investigated the grave he had been dreading to see on the run there.

Stoick was staring into it as well – the deep crater in the ground. And surely enough;

 _It was empty._

Fishlegs whimpered in fear and covered his mouth right away. He looked away and over to Hiccup. Only first now did he realize what his friend was going through. He had gone through the pain – to ensure everyone's safety, to dig up the body alone. The body of his torturer – the body of his enemy. And now – his enemy's corpse was missing, and one of their own had died because of it.

Carefully, he moved over to his friend and kneeled by his shaking frame. His mother shared a worried glance with him as she cradled him in his arms. When he looked into Hiccup's eyes, he could see that they were distant and glossed over. He was staring right at the grave and the dead Viking beside it.

Stoick slowly stepped down into the grave and set his helmet back on his head. He held the torch down as he noticed something shimmering and reflecting parts of the light. Slowly, he picked the object up and held it up against the torch.

 _A lens._

Stoick eyed it carefully until he felt someone was watching him. He put it in his pouch and climbed out of the grave. Then he went over to the dead Viking and carefully lifted him up in his arms. He looked at the teens. "Help him back to the village when he's stable," he sighed and looked over at his wife and son.

Valka held Hiccup's face into her chest and rubbed his back soothingly. She shared a glance with her husband who waited patiently for them. "Can you stand?" She whispered in Hiccup's ear. He nodded shakily against her chest and the two slowly rose from the ground.

Toothless cooed worriedly and nudged him gently with his snout. He helped him up on his saddle and Valka climbed up behind him. She gently petted his side when Hiccup was holding on, and the three flew up in the air and headed towards the village again.

Snotlout and Fishlegs helped Kenna carry the Viking back to the village by foot while the twins could do nothing more than watch.

"Hiccup?" Astrid said quietly as she walked up the stairs. The said male was sitting with his back to the door as he had ever since he came home. His dirtied hands were resting on his knees – the fresh blood dripping from his fingertips.

Astrid sighed and slowly walked towards him with a bucket of water and some cloth. She sat down beside him, careful not to startle the man who didn't even look up once. Slowly, she laid her hand on his knee and rested the other on his cheek. "Hiccup..." she whispered.

Hiccup's hands started to tremble. He slowly lifted his head and looked into her eyes – Astrid swore she could have torn up by seeing how dead and lifeless they were. But instead, she stroked his cheek and smiled sadly at him. "It's okay..." she whispered carefully. "You're safe..."

Hiccup's eyes watered. He slowly leaned against her and rested his head against her chest. Soft and helpless sobs escaped his lips and he soon found himself grasping onto the air helplessly – afraid to coat her – afraid to get her blood on his hands too.

Astrid held his head against her chest and kissed it repeatedly, whispering that he was safe with her and that they would work something out together.

"I-I tried to keep them _safe_ ," Hiccup choked out between the sobs. He leaned more into her touch as he wrenched over, unable to keep his emotions in any longer. "I-I tried to keep _everyone safe_."

"I know, I know," Astrid whispered. "Odin, I know. And you were reckless by doing so."

Hiccup's shoulders trembled, but slowly stopped. He looked up at her completely broken inside. "I-It's _my_ fault that he-

"No," Astrid shook her head sternly. She lifted his head more and held it in her hands. Her eyes looked deeply into his. " _You_ did _nothing_ wrong," She whispered, her voice cracking. It broke her to see him like this. " _Alvin_ did it. He's the one to blame."

Hiccup's lips quivered, and he broke into another sob, closing his eyes. "O-oh gods, I can't believe he's-he can't be...I..." he shook his head and buried his face in her shoulder.

Astrid wrapped her arms around him while his was still absently held away. "We don't know for sure, okay?" She tried to assure him. "There's no proof-

"His _body_ is _gone_ , Astrid," Hiccup said a bit harsher than he intended to. He pulled back and ran a hand through his hair but stopped as he remembered what soaked his hands. He bit his lip tightly and went back to the position he previously sat in – staring at the ground. "He _is_ back. There's no proof _against_ it."

Astrid sighed and slowly rubbed his back. She stayed silent for a bit before she nodded, giving in to his thoughts. "He _is_ back," she nodded, and Hiccup slowly looked up at her. The shields maiden sat down in front of her boyfriend and gently took his hands in hers. His hands twitched and pulled away at first, but slowly he allowed her, and she put their hands into the bucket together.

"There's no changing the fact," Astrid said as she rubbed his hands gently. "There's no _changing_ the _past_."

Hiccup sighed and lowered his head. He closed his eyes.

"But we can _change_ the _future_ ," Astrid smiled faintly, and the heir opened his eyes again and looked into hers. She looked at him hopefully. "Together, okay? You don't have to go through anything like that alone ever again."

Hiccup looked at her sadly. "I don't want you to get hurt. Gosh, I couldn't live with myself if you and Aiden-

"We're strong, Hiccup," Astrid assured him with a faint smile. She rubbed his hands lovingly, rinsing and scrubbing away every drop of blood on his hands. "And we know you're strong too. There's no way Alvin will come anywhere near us."

Hiccup sighed and smiled weakly. "I hope not," he whispered and moved closer. He slowly wrapped his arms around her when she let go of his hands. His lips pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "I just want us to finally be a family without anyone..."

"Me too," Astrid whispered and hugged him back tightly. "Me too, Hiccup."

Hiccup sighed and closed his eyes. He breathed in the roses and let the silk bring him back down to earth. After some time, he carefully pulled back. The two shared a small kiss before Astrid whispered, "Are you okay, otherwise?"

Hiccup slowly took the cloth and wiped their hands. "D-do you mean my mind or-

Astrid shook her head with a small laugh. "I mean your body. Have you healed any better since you came back?"

Hiccup chuckled slightly and wiped his eyes when Astrid got up to set the bucket aside. "Yeah," he whispered and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I feel a lot better. I just woke up this morning and everything felt like it was somewhat back to normal."

Astrid smiled and climbed up on the bed. She gently pulled him up and into her arms which Hiccup didn't resist cuddling into. She gently rubbed his arms and got a small feeling of how his muscles seemed to somewhat have returned. When he returned the other day, he looked almost as if he had been starved for a month or two, but now...He looked even healthier than he did _before_ his downfall.

Astrid couldn't help the smile that kept curling on her lips. While he was still the same old fishbone, she was glad the Gods had some mercy on his poor body. Something told her they would need all the strength they could get – especially Hiccup.

It took her a while before Hiccup's light snores brought her out of her thoughts. When she looked down at his face, she saw him sleeping peacefully, the dried tears leaving a small trace over his freckled cheeks. She gently wiped them away and carefully moved – to not startle him awake, and then made sure they were both comfortable and safe in each other's presence.

Then, after a while of rampaging through her own thoughts, sleep finally welcomed her with open arms.

Even though sleep had come easy for Hiccup, it didn't last for very long. His dreams were blending together, and everything was becoming more and more realistic in behind his shut lids. The objects took shape around him and the light of the morning sun almost blinded him through their material.

The first thing he noticed was that everything was made out of gold.

Hiccup blinked a few times and looked at it again with wide eyes. He slowly ran his fingers over a golden chair beside him – it was filled with deep red cushion that matched the large blankets below his feet.

The second thing he noticed was that he felt cleaner.

When he looked down, he found himself wearing strange material and fabric which didn't belong to Berk of his knowledge. His tunic had changed from the last time he remembered – instead of the deep red tunic his mother had given him when he came back, he was wearing a leathered plate with a soft, almost expensive, texture beneath.

There was a tight, thick belt strapped around his waist that wore the Berkian crest. It looked almost identical to his father's...wait.

Hiccup's eyes widened as he looked around, suddenly realizing. The overwhelming amount of gold – the sun that wasn't existent in the room – the pure fabric. This was-

"My _child_ ," A deep and almost booming voice said behind him. In an instant, Hiccup turned around and looked up at the sight before him with wide eyes. There, a few feet from where he stood, sat a man on a golden throne – a grip firmly wrapped around a spear. His light blue eye looked deeply into his soul and Hiccup couldn't help but take a step back at the overwhelming stare.

He gripped onto the chair behind him to not fall over it, though his eyes never left his. The golden eyepatch across his right eye – the white locks of his beard – the golden helmet.

 _Óðinn._

"You have yet again, returned _home_ ," The male spoke softly and slowly rose from his throne. Hiccup's lips quivered, and his grip tightened.

"I-I..." Hiccup stammered.

Odin slowly walked down the steps from his throne and down to the frightened Viking. At first, Hiccup had not only been afraid by his presence, but also his size and height. However, the closer he stepped, the more he realized that he was no more than two heads above his.

Slowly, Odin's hand rested itself on Hiccup's cheek. His hand caressed it carefully and his eyes investigated his.

Hiccup found himself unable to move, breathe or even look away. In front of him – _touching_ him, was Odin, the _godfather_. He was in _Valhalla_.

"A-am I...dead?" Hiccup finally found himself speaking – his voice cracking in sorrow. He had just returned-was the little stay everything he got? They still had so much to figure out – so many problems to sort.

"Do you believe you are?" Odin asked softly and rested his hand on his shoulder.

Hiccup's eyes fell on it for a moment before he looked back at the God before him. He stammered a word out with no meaning and went silent again. _Was_ he _really_?

"My _child_ ," Odin said again, looking deeply into his eyes. "I have returned you to _Valhalla_ for an important matter while your vessel is still safely in Midgard," he slowly pulled away and held up his hand. Hiccup looked towards it and not much later, he could see his mother walking into their room with Aiden in her arms. She looked over at the two sleeping parents before quietly putting the boy to rest as well.

"M-mom..." Hiccup whispered and slowly reached out for it, but the image disappeared. He looked up at Odin again.

"A threat has risen in the darkness of Midgard," Odin said calmly. "One that we cannot interfere or change."

Hiccup looked at him confused. His lips parted. "But..." Odin was a _God_. Wasn't he supposed to be able _do_ everything? _Know_ everything?

Odin looked at him again and Hiccup immediately shut his mouth. The God looked across the dining table beside them that stretched down the hall and completely out of Hiccup's sight – though there seemed to be no end.

"My _child_ ," Odin spoke again and looked his way. "It wasn't my work sending you back to Midgard – to your loving companions."

Hiccup looked at him more puzzled. He thought he had returned on duty – to face something bigger than his people could ever face alone.

" _Loki escaped_ ," The God said firmly. His grip tightened on the spear and Hiccup gulped. "He has cast a curse on Midgard and the bridge between our worlds for many centuries now. No one has had the power to break it, and no one has ever had the knowledge to," he admitted.

Hiccup's eyes widened even more. Odin – the God of knowledge _didn't know_?

"Loki has used you as his toy ever since your birth," Odin continued. "He has manipulated souls and vessels discretely – revived numerous of souls from the depths of Helheim, the home of the dishonorable dead."

 _Alvin the Treacherous._

Odin nodded. " _Alvin_ was one of the many, and he is one of the many more throughout the years. Your acts on Midgard of demolishing his soul was almost successful – you destroyed his vessel and he wandered through Midgard until _Thor_ , my dearest son, informed me."

Hiccup nodded quietly and let him speak on. He wanted to comment – ask him all of his questions, but he feared he would lose his tongue if he did.

"His vessel is guarded here in Valhalla until Loki has been dealt with," Odin explained and slowly sat down in the chair by the end of the table. Hiccup stood and watched. "It is to ensure the safety of your people – but it won't be long until Loki will return an old enemy to take everything from you."

Hiccup gulped at that. He fiddled with his fingers nervously and finally had the courage to speak up. "Can't you help me? Thor already-

" _Thor went behind my back_!" Odin boomed at the young Viking and Hiccup immediately closed his mouth again. "He _didn't_ confront me of the matter and everything _worsened_!"

Hiccup bowed his head in shame for upsetting his God.

"I will _not_ let that happen again. No matter what," Odin said a bit calmer, but still harsh to the tone. He took a deep breath, looked away – eyed the paintings of the walls to his left, and then looked back at his hands. " _Ragnarök_ is coming – Loki is preparing his war against Valhalla."

" _However_ ," Odin said, and Hiccup watched him cautiously. His mind was going crazy – he knew Odin felt it. "It _can_ be stopped."

Hiccup swallowed thickly. He had a feeling where this was leading.

" _And only you can do it."_

Silence filled the hall.

Odin looked at his hands and Hiccup did the same. Neither of them spoke or had eye-contact, and neither of them moved. Hiccup scrambled through his thoughts, finding himself a pounding headache. His heart beat faster.

A lot started to make sense when he looked up at the paintings on the wall. There were numerous paintings of wars he had only heard as small folk-tales by the Berkians in hope to scare him inside during the raids. In each of the paintings, there were Vikings dressed up as himself – _Romans_ dressed up in their traditional clothing. The crest didn't just represent Berk as an island – it represented his whole people, their _heritage_.

And the information Odin, the God Father, had just given him – pieces of the puzzle was still missing while some were scrambled in a pile. The rest, on the other hand, was put together in a clear picture. A picture of a warrior – a peacekeeper that kept balance between their worlds.

Odin wanted him to fight for the Gods existence, but also his own and the human's as well. Loki didn't just cause distress and havoc in Valhalla – he was fighting to conquer everyone; Midgard, Valhalla, Svartalfheim.

 _Everyone was at risk._

"This has been strictly planned ever since my son broke his promise, and it wasn't until now that we realized who we had to trust," Odin looked at him again. "The war threatens _everyone_ , but Midgard – your home, _will be the battleground."_

Hiccup slowly closed his eyes, turning his head away. His hands were trembling, and his eyes were tearing up. To hear this from Odin – the man who knew everything, was sickening. To hear this horrid _truth_. It was overwhelming and absurd.

" _We_ will keep Loki out of your home," Odin said calmly. "But what is done, is done. What Loki has done until now, is _done_. We cannot undo it."

"So, you want me to," Hiccup finally spoke out, his voice trembling as well.

Odin looked at him a bit insulted at first, but the emotion disappeared, and he nodded. " _Yes_ ," He said calmly. "Loki will no longer interfere, and neither will I."

Hiccup didn't know if he should sigh relieved, knowing that Loki's work would finally end, and untouchable, horrendous souls stalking his dreams and his life would finally end. He didn't know if he should believe anything – it all seemed surreal. That was until Odin spoke up yet again, and told him;

" _Not unless you fail me_ ," Odin said, and Hiccup looked up at him right away with wide eyes. Did the God doubt him? He was about to shake his head, but something held him back from doing so. " _If_ you do, I'll take back everything. I'll take back your soul and your new vessel and send you to Helheim _myself._ "

Hiccup looked at him in tears. He opened his lips helplessly, about to yell out, beg for him to spare him – beg for him to find someone else. He finally had another chance at living – at living together with his family – to watch his son grow up and take over his chiefdom after him.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't yell; he couldn't talk; he couldn't breathe. If he _failed_ , his people – everyone on Midgard – his home, would perish in disastrous events. The _Gods_ would _perish_ and the world – the life as everyone knew it would be completely gone.

 _Everything was resting on his shoulders_.

"Loki has been working on something together with a group of people far south of your homeland," Odin said and stood up and went over to Hiccup who's body seemed to stop shaking all at once by his presence. "There are people you can and cannot trust, in your life. Figure out who and you'll find the path to success," he said and laid his hand on his shoulder.

 _"If not, you know what is at stake."_

Hiccup gasped as he shot up in his bed, gripping onto the wooden planks beneath his form. He looked around panicked, blinked a couple of times to get used to the dark, and then finally settled down enough to realize – it was a dream.

 _Yet, it was so much more than that_.

Toothless crooned worriedly at his rider. Astrid and Aiden were still sleeping soundly beside him and not at all alerted by his awakening. The dragon quietly moved over to him and nudged his side as if asking, "Are you okay?"

Hiccup slowly ran his hand through his hair. He looked down at Toothless and his eyes finally went back to their normal openness. "I-I..." The heir sighed and rested his head against Toothless'. The dragon cooed confused but stayed still and closed his eyes.

After a few minutes passed, Hiccup finally pulled back and stood up. "I-I need some fresh air," he whispered, still shaken up. He carefully walked towards the door, looking at the bloody water in the bucket by it for a moment, and then went down the stairs and outside.

Toothless followed quietly on his trail and settled down beside his rider on the porch. He rested his head in his lap and wrapped his body protectively around him – the heat of his scales keeping him warm in the cold, winter air.

It was still deep into the night – only the torches of the town were lit up for the Vikings who were on night patrol. The sun was just starting to cast a bit of its light on the horizon, so Hiccup guessed it wouldn't be that long before the earliest of the Vikings would wake and start their chores.

Hiccup sighed and absently stroked Toothless' head when the dragon continued to rest – something Hiccup found himself unable to do. It wasn't because of the chills of the night nor the unsettling feeling of unsafety – he couldn't rest because of what he knew and nobody else did.

He pondered on if he should tell anyone – if he should tell his father or Astrid, or even his mother, but he couldn't bear the thought of putting the weight on them and dragging them down with him. He didn't want them to worry, but he knew there was no way he would be able to do this alone even if Odin _himself_ had pointed out he had to.

As the night went on and the morning started to leave its tracks more on the village, the dragons started to wake up and head off to the ocean to fetch some breakfast. It took a while before the door opened behind him and footsteps were heard.

They stopped abruptly, and a voice followed. "Hiccup?" Hiccup sighed and looked up at his father with a small smile and a faint chuckle.

"Wow, dad," He chuckled. "The dragons are up before you? Did you sleep in again?"

Stoick looked at him a bit puzzled, still fixing his messed-up helmet from where he had slept in his chair throughout the night with Valka in his arms. He slowly walked up beside him, his puzzled look disappearing.

Toothless cooed as a good morning and moved away so Stoick could sit. The chief petted his head for a moment and then slowly sat down beside his son. "Couldn't sleep?" Stoick asked simply and looked at him with a sigh.

Hiccup merely shook his head and looked out over the horizon. He bit his lip as he watched the sun rise, wondering if he should repeat the long conversation and tell him the crazy plans of the Gods to his overly exhausted father.

After a small silence, Hiccup looked up at his father. "Mind if I help along today?" he smiled faintly.

Stoick chuckled at that and patted his back. "I thought you'd never ask," he smiled proudly, trying to avoid asking what was wrong. He understood that a lot was going through his son's head – he hadn't quite dealt will his own questions himself. "Skullcrusher!"

The said dragon came out of the dragon stable beside their house. He greeted his rider and friend for a moment before the chief climbed into his saddle – his son mirroring him, and the four set off to start the long day ahead of them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Stoick boomed as he landed on the docks. He pushed himself through the crazy Vikings who stood in a crowd around a ship, hungry for whatever was in front of them. When he came at the front, he looked at the ship surprised, and the familiar trader stepped forward. "Trader Johann?"

Said man looked up and he beamed. "Chief Stoick!" He smiled and excused himself to one of the customers. He went over to the Viking and greeted him.

"When did you sail in?" Stoick asked puzzled.

"Actually, yesterday evening!" The trader laughed faintly. "I was trying to send a note, but the terrible terror flew off with me chicken!"

"Ah, that's alright," Stoick smiled and nodded. "I'm just glad you arrived safely. Did you stay here through the night?"

"Oh, yes, but it's no worry! I didn't want to break up the big celebration," Johann smiled and looked past him as he saw Hiccup push through the crowd. "Odin's beard...the rumors are true!" He gasped. "Master Hiccup!" He smiled brightly and ran to him a bit too excited.

Hiccup laughed faintly at that. "Hey, Johann," he smiled and greeted him. "How have you been?"

"Oh you know me," Johann smiled brightly and inspected him and his clothes. It was pretty unusual to see him without his fancy armor after all. "I've sailed off the end of the earth and returned," he laughed. "Nature won't get rid of me that easily!"

"Wouldn't want it to either," Hiccup smiled and followed him as he led them onto his boat. He looked around curiously. No wonder the Vikings were going crazy. He had all sorts of different, exotic fruits and weapons. "Oh, I just remembered," Hiccup said and looked at Johann. "Do you have anything I could give as a gift?"

Johann wiggled his eyebrows. "Is it for a certain young lady? You know, I used to have a gorgeous woman in my life too, until she almost tried to chop my head off for selling her bra!" he laughed.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Never mind then..."

Stoick chuckled and shook his head. "I think he means his young son."

"Aiden?" Johann brightened up at that. "My, how old is he now? It's been so long since I last saw him!"

"He's turning five soon," Hiccup smiled and looked around. He wasn't even sure of what he liked... "Do you have anything he could like?"

"Hm..." Johann scratched his chin. "Oh!" He brightened up as he realized and right away ran under deck. Hiccup smiled and kept looking around in the meantime.

Snotlout snorted. "What are these?" He picked up a metal bra and exchanged his helmet with it.

Tuffnut leaned in closer to get a better look. "They look really spikey...Oh, it must be a new weapon!" He snatched it from him and tried to swing it around. "Awesome!"

"Hey!" Snotlout grumbled as he hit his butt and grabbed it back. "I had my eyes on it first!" He swung it around with a grin.

"Snotlout, that is not a weapon!" Hiccup groaned and grabbed it from him. He threw it aside, but accidentally threw it into his father's arms.

Stoick grunted in surprise and looked down at what was in his hands.

"There you are," Valka smiled as she finally got through the crowd. She stopped as she saw what was in his arms. "Eh...?" She couldn't help but laugh.

Stoick's cheeks went red. He threw it into the water and folded his hands behind his back. "What's going on?" He said awkwardly and followed her away for a bit.

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head with a smile. He looked around and inspected the foreign fruits by smelling and touching them. He wondered if Astrid would like one of them.

"This is the best I can offer you, Master Hiccup," Johann said as he walked back upstairs. He handed him a small, yet colorful necklace. Hiccup looked at it a bit fascinated, but unsure.

"How is this good for a child?" Hiccup murmured and pulled at it and felt over it. The necklace slowly pulled apart and Hiccup soon realized that the necklace wasn't just an ordinary jewelry. It had colorful pieces of wood that could hook and unhook together in different patterns. It didn't take long before he couldn't help but fiddle around and try himself.

Johann laughed. "I think you understand," he smiled and watched him.

Hiccup blushed faintly. "How much do you want for it?" He looked up.

Johann smiled and patted his shoulder. "It's a gift from me to you," he hummed. "I'm so relieved to see that you are back home and well!"

Hiccup smiled at that. "Thank you, Johann. I'm sure he will love this."

Johann nodded happily. "How is the young lady doing?" He asked as Hiccup continued to look around. He followed curiously.

"She's doing wonderful," Hiccup smiled and looked through the fruits yet again. He picked a green and yellow fruit and felt it curiously. "She has been raising Aiden really well."

"Oh, I wouldn't have expected anything less!" Johann hummed. "It brings me back to the day when..." he slowly trailed off. Hiccup looked up at him surprised, but soon noticed he was looking up at the docks a bit shocked. He followed his gaze again and they soon landed on Viggo who was slowly approaching the boat.

Viggo eyed the trader carefully for a moment before he smiled. "Trader Johann. What a pleasure to see you so far from home," he said and walked up to the two. Hiccup's caution disappeared, and he looked at them surprised.

"You know him?" Hiccup asked.

"Aye," Viggo nodded. "He used to trade for us as well."

"Is it true?" Trader Johann asked a bit less surprised than he wanted to seem. "Did they banish you?"

Viggo nodded and sighed. "It's a long story."

"You know I love long stories-

"I don't want to talk about it," Viggo muttered a bit sternly and the atmosphere tensed up faintly. Hiccup watched the two quietly as they excused themselves to keep catching up. He watched them cautiously until they disappeared beneath deck.

"Weird..." Hiccup muttered and looked back down at the fruit in his hand. He slowly put it back as an unpleasantly sour smell filled his nostrils. He gave a small grimace, wiped his hand and walked off the boat with the necklace in his hand.

His father soon walked up to him with his stoic face as usual. "Son," he said and laid his hand on his shoulder. His eyes fell on the necklace for a moment. "There is another scheduled meeting coming up now. Do you have time?"

Hiccup looked up at his father, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. This was the only part of the day he had managed to push aside everything that had happened. He looked at his father a bit unsure, before nodding. They had to make some sort of progress with their plans, and to do that, he had to attend.

Hiccup nodded and added. "I think we should consider letting trader Johann in on the meeting. He might have some, eh, _stories_ about the island. He seems to have a pretty close connection to Viggo's past too."

Stoick's expression changed a bit and he looked after the trader who was still under deck. He then looked at his son and nodded. "Do you think we should tell him everything or bring him in as a witness."

Hiccup pursed his lips in thoughts. "We'll have to see," he said and looked after the two Vikings. "We should avoid giving out too much. He does love to spread his information after all."

Stoick looked at him a bit puzzled, but soon nodded. He knew the trader – he had never given out top secret. As far as he knew at least, seeing as they didn't have any extra raids from other Viking tribes.

"I'll go get them both," Stoick nodded at him and went to the boat.

Hiccup watched his father, biting his lip tightly. He wanted to go after them instead – to hear what they had to go under deck to talk about, but he decided it was just paranoia and went over to his best friend who was waiting patiently. He put the necklace in the saddlebag and climbed on. "Let's go buddy."

And soon enough, the meeting started. It went by quickly at first – Hiccup wasn't too focused on the matter that they were discussing, since it was mostly about the elders talking on the "Gods behalf" whenever his father mentioned Alvin and the deceased Viking.

It wasn't until they started to talk about advancing towards the island that Hiccup finally began listening and participating again. Astrid who stood beside her wanted to question his silence but decided not to when he covered it up as he finally spoke.

"I think we should head out as soon as possible," Hiccup spoke up and rose from his chair. "Scout the island and the tribe, see what we can learn and hopefully find out whatever is happening."

Everyone stayed silent for a moment, before Spitelout said, "And leave the island unprotected from Alvin?"

Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He scratched his neck. "It's hard to explain, but please trust me on this. If we want to find out how I managed to return, we should head to the island. It's the only place we can start searching for answers."

"But why do we have to go there? Shouldn't we just be happy you're back?" Tuffnut shrugged his shoulders.

Snotlout smacked him at that. "It's not what he means," he grunted and looked at his cousin who nodded at him gratefully.

"What I mean, Tuffnut, is that if _I_ can return from the dead, so can someone else," Hiccup said and looked over the table. "We can't risk _not_ going there."

Stoick sighed as he thought over it. He was glad that his son was back, but he did wonder how and why. Then again, it could lead to much bigger consequences.

Valka slowly stood up. "I believe we should head out as well. The sooner we can learn about their people, the sooner we might be able to find out what is hiding there and _if_ it is a threat."

Hiccup nodded at that. "And you said that Toothless reacted quite differently than normal, right? When he was in the area?" he looked to Snotlout.

Snotlout nodded. "It was pretty bizarre. His body started to glow, but aside from that he seemed to feel your presence."

Valka looked at him a bit fascinated. Her eyes fell on the Night Fury who cooed confused.

"Mom?" Hiccup looked at her as he saw something was on her mind.

Valka looked back at him and shook her head. "I was just thinking. I haven't ever seen two alphas meet before, but it does sound like something that _could_ happen."

Hiccup tensed up a bit.

"You mean there's another alpha on the island?" Astrid looked at her surprised.

Valka nodded. "It's possible. Did you encounter any wild dragons there?" she looked at Snotlout who shook his head.

"Luckily, no," Snotlout murmured. "They would have eaten me alive."

Hiccup looked at the table in thoughts. Did Odin mean that Loki had created another alpha? Like the Red Death? How would that even be possible? There was so much that didn't add up.

"Johann?" Hiccup looked up and over at the trader who sat across from him, in between the twins. He looked up nervously and nodded. "You said you traveled there once. Can you tell us _anything_ about the island?"

Johann fiddled with his hands nervously. "Do you want the long or the short story?"

"Anything that can give us what we need to know," Hiccup said and slowly sat down. The trader stood up nervously, looked over the Vikings and breathed in a nervous chuckle.

"I don't remember having this big of an audience in so long!" Johann scrambled, and his eyes fell on Viggo. The Viking nodded for him to continue. "Well, eh, I eh, there's a lot that I _didn't_ see. I had just sailed from the romans after a long and dreadful stay! They almost robbed me of me pants!"

Hiccup leaned up a bit more in his chair while the other Vikings groaned. This was going to be a long day.

"And so they swooshed down and tried to get me! I almost pooped me new silk pants that was gifted from the ruler of the romans-

" _Johann_ ," Hiccup muttered for the hundredth time. "Stay on track, please. This is _serious_."

Johann smiled nervously. "Yes, yes-of course Master Hiccup," he nodded hurriedly and thought about where he was in the story. "Oh! After they tried to hunt me off the island, I fled and came here!"

Snotlout groaned and faceplanted into the table. He banged his fist against it which woke up some of the sleeping Vikings. "You spent _two hours_ to talk about how you docked at the _wrong_ side of the island," He cupped his hands to his right and moved them left. "To old men throwing rocks at you for a small _minute_ and _then_ fleeing? Come on!"

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his eyes. He slowly got up, rolling his shoulders lightly. "Alright," he murmured. "Anyone pick up any clues from the story that could _help_ us?"

No one spoke up.

Hiccup threw his hands up in irritation and slumped down in his seat again. "Great. Just _perfect_."

Trader Johann smiled nervously and slowly rose his finger. "Does anyone want to hear about my story when-

"No!" Half of the council yelled, and the man sat down in his chair right away.

Stoick shook his head slowly and waved his hand off. "We'll decide more tomorrow. Meeting is dismissed."

A few Vikings grumbled at the man for wasting their time before finally leaving the hall.

Astrid chuckled faintly. "At least Aiden seemed to enjoy the stories," she mumbled and looked down at the now sleeping Viking in her arms. She looked over at Hiccup who was resting his head in his hands. The shields maiden sighed and slowly rested her hand on his back. "Hiccup..."

" _Nothing_ makes sense," Hiccup said irritated, slowly pulling his head away from his hands. "There is so much going on – so many things happening and so little that we can figure out."

Astrid smiled sadly and rubbed his back. She looked over at Stoick a bit helpless. She knew he hated to feel this way – so useless. They all felt that way.

" _First_ , I come back to life for no particular _reason_ on a _mysterious_ island," Hiccup said and slammed his hand faintly into the table. " _Secondly,_ Alvin's body disappears and _thirdly_ , I get this Thor's forsaken dream with Odin in Valhalla telling me I the fate of _everyone_ is in my hands," He almost yelled out the last part which startled the sleeping boy.

Everyone fell silent and looked at him. Stoick's eyes widened faintly as he realized why he hadn't been able to fall asleep. He slowly narrowed them and got up, gripped his son's arm.

Hiccup moved his head away and sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"We should talk," Stoick said a bit sternly and looked over the table for a small moment. The Vikings in the hall was still staring at the lad. "Alone."

Hiccup slowly looked up at his father. While he did, the rest of the council took it as a queue and started to leave the hall.

Valka waited for the others to leave before she went up to them.

"Val," Stoick said sternly, but his wife shook her head.

"I'm staying," She said calmly and crossed her arms. Stoick eyed her for a small moment before he nodded – realizing what she was fearing he would do. He slowly let go of his son's arm and sat down again.

Valka gently rested her hand on Hiccup's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "What's on your mind, son?" She smiled faintly and slowly sat down with him. She took his hand in hers and held it to comfort him.

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his eyes. He felt a bit bad for not letting Astrid in on it now that he had to tell his parents either way. "I had a dream, last night," he said slowly and looked up at them. "It's just that, I _know_ it was more than a dream, and it's so hard to explain."

Valka looked at Stoick for a moment before she rubbed his hand. "Try. We'll listen."

Hiccup sighed and bowed his head. He closed his eyes and started to imagine everything he could remember. " _Odin_ reached out to me in _Valhalla_."

Stoick and Valka tensed up. They shared another glance before looking at him.

"It wasn't just a dream put together into a wild imagination and not making sense, sort of dream," Hiccup slowly looked up again. "It was a dream as clear as the sky – yet it didn't make sense at all. If I was really back, then _how_ was I in again Valhalla? _How_ didn't I have any memory of ever being there before? Was I ever even there?"

Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "We had a conversation – a pretty one sided one at that."

"What did you talk about?" Valka asked cautiously.

"A lot of stuff, but mainly how Alvin had returned back then as a spirit and how I returned as well," Hiccup murmured the last part. "It was all because of _Loki_. I wasn't even _supposed_ to be alive anymore – he made that pretty clear."

Stoick scratched his beard in thoughts.

"He explained that when we burn a Vikings body, we only destroy their _vessel_ ," Hiccup explained, sounding unsure as he did. "We destroyed his vessel, but his soul still remained here on Earth because of Loki, but Odin assured me he was taken care of."

"So... _Loki_ has the power to give souls a presence?" Valka asked slowly to get the absurd words right.

Hiccup nodded. "Something like that. When _my_ vessel was burnt, I was sent to Valhalla, but I don't have any memory about it. The only reason I'm back now, is either because Loki wants to _use_ my life as a sick toy again or because _Odin_ wanted to give me a second chance."

"I'm not sure of which though," Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "It was quite hard to listen to news like that."

Stoick nodded. "That's understandable... Did he mention anything else?"

Hiccup chuckled. "Yeah, and this is probably the _craziest_ part yet."

Valka looked at Stoick. It already seemed pretty insane to them both, but they believed him and waited for him to carry on.

"He said that _Ragnarök_ is coming, and I was the only one that could stop it," Hiccup said without a hesitation. He stopped and looked at his parents to see their reaction – he expected them to find him insane and delusional, but instead the two looked even more worried.

"Odin said that because of Ragnarök, he will give me a second chance to ensure the safety of Earth," Hiccup continued. "He didn't tell me _what_ or _who_ could be causing more problems, but he said that _Loki_ was going to be taken care of and that _whatever_ he had done here in _Midgard_ , would need to be taken care of."

Silence.

Valka pursed her lips as she processed the information together with Stoick. Her hand was still absently stroking Hiccup's but stopped as she came back to reality. She slowly looked between the two.

"Then there is a big chance he is referring to the Island you were found on," Valka said and looked at Hiccup. She laid her hand on his shoulder reassuringly and looked at her husband. "We _need_ to go there."

Stoick looked at the two before he nodded faintly. "Alright, but no one needs to hear of this," he said sternly. " _Especially_ not the elders."

Hiccup chuckled faintly. "I would never even think about telling them."

Valka smiled slightly and got up with him. "Who should stay behind and take care of Berk?" She looked up at Stoick.

Stoick slowly got up and fixed his helmet. "I'll take care of that. You two need to get the riders prepared for an expedition."

The two nodded and without another word hurried out of the hall to inform Hiccup's friends and Gobber. They needed everyone they could get – especially if Hiccup's dream really turned out to be true.


	14. Chapter 14

"Aiden?"

Hiccup held the necklace tightly in his left and Astrid's hand in his other. The little boy soon clumsily climbed down the stairs with a squeal.

"Mama! Papa!" He hugged their legs at the same time with a giggle and peeked up at them.

Hiccup smiled sadly and shared a small glance with Astrid before he kneeled to him. He moved his hand up and through Aiden's red locks. It didn't take long before the boy understood something was up.

Aiden stepped back slightly, his smile fading. He hugged his dragon tighter. "M-mama?" he looked up at her frightened.

Astrid held back the tears and slowly sat down on her knees. She pulled him into her arms and hugged the little boy tightly. "Aiden..." she whispered but trailed off. She hugged him tighter.

Hiccup sighed and watched the two. When Astrid looked up at him, he nodded carefully and she pulled back. The boy's eyes went back and forth between the two. "We have to leave for a few days."

Aiden's eyes widened at that. He looked up at his parents pleadingly – his head shook violently from side to side.

Astrid smiled faintly and wiped away a tear. "It's only for three days. They will go by faster than you'll expect!"

"B-but mama..." Aiden looked up at her and then at his father. They had just reunited – they were finally a whole family, and now they were _both_ leaving him?

"Spitelout will be here and take care of you until we come back, alright?" Hiccup smiled and slowly held out the necklace. "Until then, we want you to have this."

Aiden looked at it through his tears. He sniffed and hesitantly took it into his own small hands – his dragon now resting beneath his arm. The worry seemed to disappear for a bit while he was trying to figure out what it was.

"Here," Astrid forced a smile and put the necklace around his neck. It was pretty long for him so it reached down to his stomach. The little boy picked it up again and fiddled around with it, trying to move the pieces around. His father soon showed him how he could use it and it almost right away brightened the mood of the boy.

He carefully sat down in front of the two and started to break off the pieces clumsily and putting them together with effort.

The parents watched him quietly, taking in the sight. They knew it wasn't a dangerous mission – they would only scout for a few days and head back to plan more, but that didn't make it any easier leaving their son behind in the hands of another man.

For Astrid, it was especially tough. She had been around her little boy for the most of his life – when she wasn't she always made sure he was in view or watched by other Vikings. But now that they were leaving the island – traveling across the archipelago into foreign territory, no one would be able to assure her – _them_ , that he was okay.

"It'll be something to keep you busy while we're away," Hiccup smiled and gently stroked his head. The boy looked up at him – the tears gone. "So make sure you don't lose it, alright? We'll play together when we get back!"

Aiden's lips stretched into a grin. He ran into his arms and hugged him tightly – the father soon returning the embrace. "I-I pwotect it...I pwotect U-Uncle and-and Uncles!" he grinned up at his parents.

Hiccup laughed at that. "We know you will," he kissed his head proudly.

Astrid gently rubbed his back and the little boy ran into her arms to hug her as well. He rubbed his head against her chest and happily. "I-I love you mama and-and papa."

Hiccup smiled at Astrid and laid her hand on his. "We love you too – more than anything else in this world."

Aiden smiled even more at that. He cuddled closer and the family stayed together – not wanting to let go at all. It wasn't until the door opened and Spitelout stepped inside that they finally pulled back. Hiccup stood up and greeted his uncle with a hesitant smile.

Spitelout wasn't known – in Hiccup's eyes at least, for raising a child, but that was beyond the picture. He was the only one they could surely trust would be able to watch over Berk and get the chiefly duties done. He was after all training together with his father as a child.

The bigger Viking patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I won't let him out of me sight, lad," he smiled and watched the mother and the child say a final goodbye. When the two parted, Astrid went up beside Hiccup and Spitelout to Aiden's side.

"Thank you," Hiccup nodded at him and smiled at Aiden. He took Astrid's hand and without another word, the two left.

Aiden ran to the door before it closed. He watched his parents sadly as they mounted their dragons.

"Come on, lad," Spitelout said and placed his hand on his shoulder. The little boy sighed sadly, clutched his dragon and the toy tighter, before finally letting go of the door and following Spitelout inside so they could eat dinner.

Hiccup and Astrid landed by the arena where the riders were packing the last provisions and supplies they needed for the scouting mission. "Everyone ready?" Hiccup asked and looked around at them. They eyed each other for a moment before Tuffnut kicked Snotlout forward.

"Hey!" Snotlout grumbled at him and threw a fist in his face in return. Tuffnut groaned and fell back at that, holding his bleeding nose.

"Woah..." He said mesmerized.

Hiccup facepalmed. "Let's not injure each other _before_ we even leave, alright?"

"He started!" Snotlout muttered and helped the Viking up.

"What Tuffnut meant, lad," Gobber said and glared at the said Viking. He slid down from Grump's back with something behind his back. "Was that we have a gift for ye."

Hiccup looked over at him confused. His eyes fell on his friends for a moment before he slid off Toothless' back. "Alright...?"

His friends grinned at him – Fishlegs unable to contain himself. The Blacksmith pulled away the cloth and held it to him with a small smile.

In his hands was two pieces of a chest plate. It was black as the midnight sky – in fact, when Hiccup looked closer he realized;

 _Night Fury scales._

"Wow..." Hiccup breathed out in awe. He slowly took it in his hands and felt over every inch and every detail of the chest plate. Toothless leaned forward and sniffed it curiously. He cooed confused.

"Yer friends have worked pretty hard to put it together," Gobber smiled and patted his shoulder. Hiccup looked at his friends a bit surprised. Was that why he never reached the forge before one of them popped up?

"Where did you find...?"

"I kept them as a memory," Astrid smiled faintly and slid down from Stormfly. Hiccup looked to her as she walked up to him. "You used to keep them in a bag, remember? I didn't have the heart to throw them away. Especially not when he left too..."

Hiccup smiled at her. He pulled her close and kissed her head. "Thank you," he whispered against her temple. Astrid smiled and rested her head against his shoulder while he looked to his friends and family. "Thank you – everyone."

"Ya better not ruin it, now," Gobber chuckled and went back to Grump.

"I won't make any promises," Hiccup smiled and shook his head. He tried to figure out how to put it on, but Astrid soon helped him since she had been the one to give Hiccup's little flair on it while the others worked.

Astrid took the armor out of his hands and laid one piece of it on Toothless' saddle. She removed the fur he had put on and strapped the back part of the chest plate on. Then she placed the front piece on and strapped it on his back.

When Astrid was done, Hiccup looked down at himself with a smile. He was glad they took the time to make one since he hadn't even thought about it or had time for it himself. Everything had gone by so quickly the last few days, so he could only imagine how long they had spent making it.

Astrid smiled and patted his back. "Let's get going. The faster we can get moving, the faster we can head back home."

Hiccup nodded at that and moved to help her up on Stormfly, but Astrid slapped his hand away playfully and jumped up as if it was the easiest thing in the world. He chuckled at that. "Viggo, you can ride with me," he said to the man who was about to mount Hookfang by the help of Snotlout. The man looked at him questioningly. "I have a few things I want to ask you."

The other Vikings looked at him a bit confused but didn't pay it much mind. They already went ahead – with Snotlout in the lead, while Viggo went to the Night Fury and his rider.

Astrid made sure her axe sat tightly on her back – mostly as an excuse to stay behind a bit further to watch the two.

When Viggo was on Toothless' back, behind Hiccup, the young heir chuckled. "You might want to hold on somewhere, recruit."

Viggo looked at him a bit surprised. He immediately held onto the saddle and the two leapt into the air. Hiccup smiled as they finally started to fly again – it was something he hadn't really had the option to lately and both him and Toothless enjoyed it nonetheless.

Astrid followed shortly after and made sure Stormfly stayed close, but somewhat apart as well. It wasn't like Viggo could do anything even if he wanted – he was surrounded by dragon riders. If he did try to do something, he wouldn't get anywhere with it. But Astrid kept herself on watch just in case. It was going to be a long ride after all.

When the riders had flown for a while and the evening was finally showing on the sky and their surroundings, Hiccup finally started to question the Viking and strike up a conversation. Most of the riders were trying to get some shut-eye. After all, they were going to scout, which meant that they needed everyone's eyes and awareness when they arrived.

"You're not too bad for a first-time rider," Hiccup chuckled and sat up a bit more, letting go of the saddle. He looked over his shoulder for a split second to see that the Viking was still awake.

Viggo chuckled nervously. "I might seem different than I feel on the inside." He gripped the saddle tighter.

Hiccup smiled and looked forward again. "You don't have to worry about that – if we had time, I would have helped you train a dragon yourself. It would probably be a lot better than letting someone else steer for you."

"I-I don't know about that..." Viggo said unsure with a faint smile. He looked over the view around them. "But the view surely is incredible...It's nothing like standing on top of a mountain and overlooking the world."

"I agree," Hiccup nodded and smiled. He moved his hands out. "Sometimes I wonder how it would be like to be a dragon myself. To see the world in another perspective – to travel every inch freely."

Viggo smiled at that. "It sounds amazing, indeed. But I do have to say I prefer the ground," he chuckled. "Despite everything that has happened on it."

Hiccup smiled and nodded. "Me too. Though, I have no problem changing it up every now and then," he said and petted Toothless' side. The dragon purred, and silence fell between the two.

"Did you...want to ask me something?" Viggo reminded him.

Hiccup sat up again as he remembered. He nodded. "Yeah. I hope you can tell me with full honesty though."

Viggo looked at him a bit suspicious, but chuckled. "I can't promise anything."

"Fair enough," Hiccup smiled faintly. He could feel Astrid watching them like a hawk. "Did you do anything to get _banished_ from your home? I mean, it's pretty serious if you..."

Viggo nodded in agreement at that. "It is a pretty serious matter, and I understand why you're concerned," he chuckled. "But I can assure you that it was nothing else but my brother's lust for the throne."

"You see, a bond can be very precious – even at the point where you though it was no more," Viggo said absently, looking at the waves below them. "My brother and I were very close – we never hid anything from each other and we always did _everything_ together."

"Sounds familiar," Hiccup smiled and looked down at Toothless who warbled in agreement. Even though they may not be brothers by blood – they sure shared a bond just like one.

"Then you must understand that at times, decisions have to be made for the better of the other?" Viggo hummed faintly up at him. Hiccup nodded and looked over his shoulder. "My brother and I came across one of those situations where nothing seemed to matter more than pride and status."

"While we were training together day and night, my brother slowly came to realize that he wouldn't stand a chance against me if we ever fought for the right to become the next chieftain," Viggo chuckled. "You see, in our tribe, we don't pass the leadership onto the _rightful_ heir. There is always someone who challenges it and that was our destiny. We both knew."

Hiccup looked forward again as he was trying to put together the pieces. "So you brother wanted to get rid of you..."

Viggo nodded with a satisfied grin. "You're catching up," he chuckled. "It is a tradition to fight under the full moon – its said that it is the only day that can truly let out our inner warrior and _hunter_. Any other day and it would be invalid."

Hiccup nodded slowly at that. He looked over at Astrid and their eyes met for a short moment, but neither spoke up. He continued to listen.

"My brother knew he stood no chance," Viggo repeated. "So he decided he had to get rid of me first – there went about a rumor that another Viking was fighting for the throne. He made a deal with the men on that island, I assume, and sold me off. I wouldn't doubt that he _is_ the chieftain, but it does make me wonder what he had to do to get them to help. They aren't exactly the right dealers to take care of that kind of a problem."

"If it was me, I would have reached out for an assassin," Viggo laughed. "But unlike my brother, I play fairly. There's no fun in it unless you do."

Hiccup chuckled at that. "Good sportsmanship, I see," he nodded and looked over his shoulder again. "Do you know what kind of a deal it could have been?"

Viggo shook his head at that. "I know very little of the tribe, but considering neither of them are assassins, I would expect that they did it for a low cost."

Hiccup nodded. "I see. Well...if it makes you feel any better, you're very welcome to stay with us and become a Berkian," he chuckled. "Its safe to say you won't be banished – unless you kill someone of course," He said a bit less casual than he wanted to.

Viggo laughed and shook his head. "A haven is all I could ask for. Thank you, brother," he patted his shoulder.

Hiccup smiled and nodded at him.

"Now that couldn't possibly be the only thing you wanted to talk about?" Viggo chuckled and pulled back. He eyed him expectantly.

Hiccup grimaced. "I do want to know more, but I don't think I'll get anything else out of you than the other's have. Unless..." he grinned playfully. "You want me to ask the all too famous question again?"

Viggo laughed and held his hands up. "Please spare me. I have no more to give."

"Very well-

"Will you two please be quiet?" Snotlout groaned. "I'm trying to sleep," he murmured and rolled over on Hookfang. The dragon grumbled and flipped upside down. "Uaah-HOOKFANG!" He yelled as he fell towards the water. The dragon kept flying.

Toothless cooed happily while the other dragons just kept flying.

Valka sighed and steered Cloudjumper down towards the water where Snotlout had just resurfaced. She helped him up on his back. "You don't seem to have much of a bond with the dragons," she laughed faintly and handed him her blanket.

Snotlout took it a bit grumpy and wrapped it around himself. "I just wanted some shut eye."

Valka smiled and shook her head. "You can sleep here. I'll make sure your friend doesn't fly off."

Snotlout looked up at her with a small smile and fell on his butt. He settled on his back and soon curled himself up again to sleep.

Valka shook her head with a laugh and Cloudjumper flew back up to the others. The time passed again with silence filling the air – that was until, of course, Snotlout finally settled into his dreamland and began his never ending snore that woke up everyone.

"Will someone please shut him up?" Ruffnut groaned and pulled her helmet further over her eyes.

Gobber snorted and looked around as he woke up. He groaned at the sound and covered his ears. "Even Stoick doesn't snore that loud!" The chief glared at him. "I mean...eh," he trailed off nervously.

Valka shrugged her shoulders with a laugh. "He's not wrong," she giggled as the tired chief glared her way too.

Fishlegs murmured a bit in his sleep – not even Snotlout being able to wake him. The Viking and his dragon swayed a bit awake every now and then, but for the most part flew in their sleep.

Hiccup shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He had gotten pretty used to it since Snotlout insisted on sleeping in their room at the ship. Viggo didn't seem to mind too much either.

But Astrid had enough after a few snores. She threw fish in his face that immediately woke him up.

Snotlout sat up and looked around panicked. "What-where, are we being attacked?" he looked around and reached for his bludgin, but instead found a foot.

Valka crossed her arms.

"Eh-heh," Snotlout laughed awkwardly and slowly let go. He didn't want the chief to decapitate him after all.

"Wow, did I just see a flying fish?" Tuffnut laughed and looked around, his eyes wide open. "Do they really exist?"

"I think I just saw one too," Ruffnut realized and looked at her brother. The two grinned.

"We shall call it fish fly-

"Fly fish-"

The twins grumbled at each other and crossed their arms. "Fly fish sounds better," Ruffnut argued.

"But Fishfly is more original!" Tuffnut yelled back.

"Do you even know what original means?" Ruffnut raised an eyebrow.

"Do you?" Astrid asked unamused. Ruffnut lifted her finger, but soon lowered it again in defeat. Astrid rolled her eyes and looked over at Snotlout. "There's no one attacking you."

"Then why did you wake me up?" Snotlout grumbled and settled back in his previous sleeping position. He fixed his helmet. "I guess I will just go back to sleep then-

"No!" The Vikings yelled together and the Viking immediately sat up with his hands in defeat.

Fishlegs shrieked awake, almost falling off Meatlug. "Hey..." he whimpered.

"Alright, alright!" Snotlout grumbled and looked around.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless as he swayed faintly. "Hey, buddy," he laid his hands on his head. The dragon growled. "We should find a place to land. The dragons are getting tired," he said as he looked around at the other's.

Toothless shook his hands off and Hiccup looked down at him confused. The Night Fury beat his wings a bit harder and slowly his scales started to glow a bright blue.

"Eh...Hiccup?" Fishlegs squeaked.

"I can see, Fishlegs," Hiccup said a bit harsh and laid his hand on his scales. "Buddy, talk to me."

"That's the same that happened when we were closing in on the island!" Snotlout exclaimed. He quickly got back on Hookfang's back and looked over the horizon.

"We must be getting close then," Hiccup nodded and led Toothless to the front. The dragon gave a hesitant growl, but soon complied. He took out his spyglass and searched the sea.

The Vikings looked around them as well, but everything was still pitch black. The only thing they could see was the reflection of the stars below them.

"Alright, stay together!" Stoick called out and moved closer to the other dragons. He looked around as well.

Toothless growled and his scales slowly started to glow more and more. Hiccup held onto the saddle tighter – Viggo mirroring him, and finally let the dragon take control.

The Night Fury slowly lowered them closer and closer to the ocean and continued to glide just above the surface. As they flew further, a dark silhouette covered the view in front of them. Hiccup swallowed thickly as he realized how close they were. He held onto the saddle tighter and the dragon led them above the forest.

"Son," Stoick flew up beside him. "We should land. Toothless is too obvious."

The dragon growled in response, but Hiccup agreed. He looked over at Viggo. "Where is the cave?"

Viggo looked around below them for a moment before he pointed in a direction. "Head down there," he said and Hiccup steered the dragon down right away – the others hot on their tail.

Toothless soon landed outside the cave and carefully moved inside. He sniffed the way and growled.

"Alright, it's clear," Hiccup said and waved the other's inside. Hiccup slid off and lead Toothless all the way in while the other dragon's shielded the opening with their wings and created enough fire for them to see.

Astrid slid off Stormfly and jogged up to Hiccup while the others started to prepare a campfire. "Are you okay?" She asked worried. Viggo went over to the working Vikings to lend a hand.

Hiccup nodded and started to undo the saddle. "I need to get him covered," he said and laid it aside. Astrid nodded and helped him drape the blanket over the Night Fury. Toothless cooed and watched the two.

Before Hiccup could put the saddle back on, Astrid stopped him. "I don't think he can come with us."

Hiccup looked at her as if she was crazy. They were depending on him to lead them around the island safely. "What do you mean? We need him-

"We're here to scout, Hiccup," Astrid shook her head and rested her hand on Toothless' head. The dragon cooed and rubbed against her. "He'll give us away if he hasn't already."

Hiccup sighed and looked at him.

"The blanket will only cover up so much," Astrid said and took his hand reassuringly. "We'll all leave the dragons here."

"What?!" Snotlout yelled as he heard, but everyone hushed him. He clasped a hand over his mouth and glared their way as if they were insane.

"We'll have a better chance at hiding ourselves _and_ Toothless, if they stay behind," Astrid explained and moved the blanket faintly away from the dragon's eyes. "We're only here to scout – not to fight. The dragons will come if we do get in danger."

Valka looked at them unsure. She looked at her husband and laid her hand on his as he thought.

Eventually, the chief nodded. "I agree," he said and Snotlout groaned in defeat.

"And no one listens," Snotlout murmured. "You didn't see what we saw-

"What did you exactly see?" Astrid hissed faintly at him which shut him up almost right away. "From what we heard, you barely had any competition. _We_ can take them ourselves."

"You don't understand," Snotlout argued. "We don't know what this island is which gives us all the more reason to stay put with our dragons!"

Fishlegs slowly raised his hand. "F-for the first time, I actually agree with Snotlout."

"Look," Hiccup shook his head and stopped them from talking. "Astrid is right. We're not here to do anything else but scout. You all have your dragon calls, right? The ones we practiced?"

"Eh..." The twins looked at him puzzled.

Hiccup facepalmed. "Never mind..."

"Just call their names," Astrid said and laid her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "The dragons need to rest either way."

Hiccup nodded and absently took her hand in his. "We should start scouting, maybe split up in two groups and see what we can find."

"Last time I checked, splitting up wasn't a good option," Snotlout murmured.

"Hiccup is right," Stoick nodded at his son. "Gobber, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and I will go search for the tribe. The others will see if they can figure out why Toothless is acting like this."

Valka looked at her son who shared a small glance at her. She nodded. "We should be careful though. There might be some guards around in the forest."

Stoick nodded. "We'll meet back here once we figure out something, but not sooner than dawn. If anything happens, call your dragons and send out a distress signal."

The Vikings nodded at that and formed their groups. They brought with them their saddle bags and Gobber made most of them were equipped with Hiccup's spyglasses.

Hiccup gently rubbed Toothless' head. The Night Fury cooed sadly and rubbed against him. "I know buddy. I don't want to leave you either," he sighed, but smiled to assure his friend. "We'll be back soon. If something happens, come get us," he said and laid his head against his. "But only if its serious."

Toothless cooed and moved his head against his. He licked his cheek and Hiccup laughed. "Hey, stop!" He pushed him away playfully and the dragon laughed. He wiped it away and got up.

"You might need this, son," Stoick nodded at him and held out a sword he had brought with. Hiccup slowly took it, wincing at its weight. He smiled awkwardly while Stoick went to his scouts and headed out already.

"No way, I'll be able to carry this," Hiccup murmured and finally let go of it when his father was out of sight. He put it up against the cave and Toothless gave a worried coo.

"You coming, dear?" Valka asked as she noticed he hadn't moved.

Hiccup nodded and jogged to the entrance. "Sorry," He chuckled and fixed his bag at his side. He followed Snotlout and Viggo together with her and Astrid – they were the only ones who knew even the slightest about the islands structure after all.

"So, what is our objective?" Astrid asked and looked at Hiccup.

"We'll have to search the island and see if we can learn anything, but our focus should be on finding whatever prison we were in," Hiccup said and glanced over at Viggo for a moment. Then his eyes fell on his mother who nodded. "And why Toothless keeps reacting."

Astrid nodded understandingly. "Alright," she slowly took his hand in his. Hiccup looked at her and she returned a serious glare. "But we're _only_ here to scout."

Hiccup chuckled faintly at that. "I know, mi'lady. I know," he smiled and kissed her head playfully which made her punch his shoulder.

Hiccup grinned and kept walking without striking up anymore conversation. They didn't know if there were guards hiding in the woods, so giving out too much noise wouldn't be a clever choice.

While they walked, Hiccup couldn't help but replay his conversation with Viggo. His backstory seemed harsh, but trustworthy, yet something wasn't adding up. How did they even escape from the prison? How did he have time to put him in the cave and _then_ get caught.

He jogged up beside the Viking after some time and laid his hand on his. Everyone stopped walking and Viggo turned to him confused. "Is there any way you can lead us into the prison?" Hiccup asked seriously.

Viggo stared him down questionably. "It's quite far off – we barely made it out of there."

"Hiccup," Astrid warned, but Hiccup stopped her.

"Show us," Hiccup said seriously, and the Viking nodded hesitantly. They changed direction and started to make their way up a hill. It led to a path that was lined up on the side of the mountain.

The Vikings couldn't help but admire the path – it really represented the nature more than it did the humans that lived on the island. Alike other tribes, the paths in the woods and on the mountains were mainly made from the steps of the humans, but unlike other tribes, there were untouched obstacles – splits in the path, that wasn't connected through a manmade bridge.

The nature was mainly untouched and the further up they got, the more they realized – it was a sacred place. Statues became present the higher up the mountain they went and it became clearer as they closed in on them that they were supposed to be monuments.

Hiccup carefully lit a torch for Snotlout who held it up to for them. "Wow..." Snotlout whispered as he got a better look at the statues. He walked closer to it and held the torch up.

"Looks like fallen warriors," Astrid murmured as she took a better look at it.

Hiccup stepped closer as well. He slowly shook his head. "I don't think so," He said and looked around them.

Valka stepped up to the stones, but almost tripped over something. She looked down at it confused. "Hiccup?" She motioned for him to come over.

"Is something wrong?" Her son jogged over to her, fearing she had hurt herself. He kneeled beside her and Snotlout soon followed with the torch. It looked like a carved rock.

"What is this?" She whispered. Hiccup and Valka shared eye-contact before the two immediately started to dig it up. Astrid helped while Snotlout held the torch.

"What are you searching for?" Viggo watched them cautiously. Hiccup stayed silent and kept digging together with them. When they had dug out a big hole around the stone, it became clearer to them that it was a buried statue.

Snotlout carefully handed Hiccup the torch and he held it closer. From the head peeking up and the hand reaching out from the ground, they could see a statue of a man in despair. When Hiccup looked back up at the statue above the ground, he soon realized that the man was reaching out for it.

His grip tightened on the torch and he found himself glaring up at it. "It's a statue of a God."

Astrid's eyebrows furrowed. She stepped over to him, brushing off her hands. The statue suddenly seemed to change the atmosphere – it became clearer that it represented a much darker connection than they had previously thought.

"Do you think...?" Snotlout murmured.

"Slaves..." Astrid whispered and looked at the buried statues again. She took Hiccup's hand worriedly. Was this the fate he was supposed to face?

Hiccup seemed to think the same as her and it didn't take long before he turned to Viggo. "Were there anyone else down in the prison?"

Viggo looked at him puzzled. "Yes...there were a few slaves. You and I shared the same cell."

Hiccup's grip tightened around her hand. He looked back up towards the path that was soon taking an end – and without hesitation he started to walk.

"Hiccup," Astrid shook her head and stopped him. "We're not here to-

"There are _slaves_ suffering down there," Hiccup hissed faintly and looked at her. "We have to find a way to help them."

Astrid swallowed thickly. She looked at Valka who hesitantly followed him. Their hands slowly pulled away the further Hiccup walked, and Astrid found herself frozen in her spot. She knew Hiccup wouldn't be able to let it go – she _knew_ that he wanted to go deeper than they would be able to.

 _But she also knew she had no other choice but to follow._

Astrid and Snotlout eyed each other carefully before finally following the heir. Viggo led them up towards the end of the mountain, and the closer they got, the foggier it became.

"Eh, last time I checked, fog didn't move like that!" Snotlout whisper yelled and pointed at the fog that was moving like visible waves at their feet – as if it had its own, lively soul.

Hiccup slowly kneeled to it and let the fog dance around his fingertips. There was suddenly a gush of wind that erupted in front of him and blew out the torch right away. He stepped closer to find out where it came from, but Viggo pulled him back.

Viggo shook his head and picked up a pebble. He held it up for them to see and then threw it a few steps in front of them.

Seconds passed, and they stood there for what felt like an eternity – but there was no sound in return. The stone hadn't hit anything which could only mean – they had reached the very top.

Snotlout gulped. "That doesn't sound very promising."

Hiccup eyed the area in front of them, but they couldn't see anything. The fog kept growing and clouding their sight. It didn't help that it was pitch black either.

"There's no way we can find the opening now," Viggo shook his head. "Not without falling to our deaths."

Hiccup clenched his fist and threw the torch in front of him. He held up his hand to stop the other's from talking and then listened carefully.

 _Plop._

Hiccup's eyes narrowed.

"Okay, that went a lot quicker," Snotlout laughed faintly. "Maybe it's not that far down."

"Snotlout...that wasn't the torch," Astrid said quietly. The Viking's eyes widened, and he finally realized how far down it was. As a reaction, he stepped back and away from what suddenly felt like the edge to his death.

"It sounded like it landed in water," Valka murmured as she tried to get a look through the fog. She held her hand out and felt through it. At least it hadn't been steaming hot which made it clear earlier that they weren't walking up a volcano.

Hiccup bit his lip tightly and shook his head. "We can't search it tonight," he admitted, although he hated himself for it. He wanted to down there straight away – search for the slaves – set them _free_. But it would be impossible.

Astrid gently rested her hand on his shoulder. She smiled sadly. "We'll come back tomorrow, alright? We'll inform the others and hear what they have found out. Surely the mist will have calmed down by morning."

Hiccup nodded hesitantly and took a step back. "Alright," he sighed and shook his head. "Let's head back."


	15. Chapter 15

"I still think we should call it Fly Fish though," Ruffnut said to Tuffnut as they followed the larger Vikings on their scouting mission.

Tuffnut crossed his arms offended. "Fly Fish would be a disgrace to our family! It is too absurd!"

"Absurd? What kind of word is that-and no it wouldn't!" Ruffnut yelled and punched his brother in his head.

"Ow-hey!" Tuffnut yelled back and threw himself on his twin.

"Will you be quiet?" Fishlegs hissed at the twins, but they kept going.

Stoick sighed in irritation and rubbed his eyes. Gobber went up to him and leaned up slightly. "Are you sure we shouldn't just leave them behind?"

"Of course, I am, Gobber," Stoick grumbled. "They are a part of Berk and Hiccup's friends – although I wish right now they were the enemy, so I could split their skulls in-

"Shh!" Fishlegs squeaked and covered the twins' mouths as he heard distant voices. He held them down to the ground tightly and looked around scared. Oh, how much he wished Meatlug was there with him.

Stoick and Gobber tensed up. The chief grabbed his axe tightly while the Blacksmith held his hook ready. Not too far from them, a torch was approaching.

"I thought I heard something..." A man grumbled, and footsteps moved closer to them. Stoick eyed Gobber who nodded at his friend. They carefully moved up against the tree behind them and waited patiently for the man to approach them.

The footsteps closed in on them and Stoick slowly raised his axe as he saw the silhouette of the man beside him. The man slowly stopped moving and poked the big, furry creature before him with his wooden bow.

Stoick eyed him carefully the whole time. He wasn't used to seeing Vikings with a bow – especially not as their only weapon. It wasn't, well, very Viking like.

As he eyed the bow closely – taking in all the details in the short time he was given, he was slowly starting to realize what this island was and who it could belong to. There was only one man he could possibly think of.

 _Einar the Bland._

Fishlegs squeaked at that and scrambled away with the twins quickly. Stoick moved his axe inches from the man's head but stopped as the man shrugged and made a grunt. "It was probably some wild boars," The man and kept walking with a distance from them. "Now come on. We have to report back to chief." And with that, he backed away again and turned to walk back to the other male who was accompanying him.

Stoick slowly moved away his axe before it reflected the light and finally the two Vikings let out a breath they were holding in so tightly. He looked over at his right-hand and nodded faintly which he returned.

The footsteps slowly, but surely, stepped further away from them until they were finally out of ear's reach. "That was close," the chief muttered and looked after them one final time.

"Ye can come out now," Gobber called to the others. The twins groaned and ran out of the bush which was shortly followed by an unsettling fart.

"Fishlegs!" Stoick groaned.

"I-I'm sorry chief!" The chubby teen whimpered and moved out of the bush too. "I get a bad tummy without Meatlug around..."

"Oh God," Tuffnut groaned as the wind blew their way, carrying the unpleasant smell. He waved his "What did you eat today? Rotten fish?"

"With yak spit?" Ruffnut groaned as well and waved her hand in front of her nose helplessly while she stepped away from the stinky Viking.

"Even I don't smell that bad!" Tuffnut laughed, but soon his smile fell and so did Ruffnut's. "I don't...He smells _worse_ than _me_?"

Ruffnut's eyes widened. "No way...Did you bathe?" She roared at him and pushed him down in the dirt. "You said we wouldn't do it before Sven found his black sheep!"

"I thought he did-Mh!" Tuffnut groaned as his sister pushed his face down in some mud.

Stoick and Gobber eyed each other again. With a silent nod, the two started to walk out of their hiding spot to keep searching. Fishlegs followed them helplessly while the twins surprisingly came along as well.

The chief led them through the forest, trying his best to avoid contact with the path that the guards had taken. He wanted to follow them, nonetheless, but running into them without the upper hand wasn't something he preferred.

"Who do ye think they were referring to, chief?" Gobber asked the chief as he wobbled silently behind him.

The chief looked around, deeply concentrated on their surroundings. He soon stopped and turned to the Vikings who immediately copied. "Did you see his weapon?"

"Eh..." Gobber murmured.

Fishlegs raised his hand quickly which earned him a glance from the chief. He blushed at his own enthusiasm and lowered it. "Didn't he have a bow?"

"Aye," Stoick nodded and kept walking. "Archers shouldn't be patrolling in the woods like that. Not without a close-combat weapon."

"But didn't he have a dagger?" Ruffnut asked confused.

"A dagger we could split in two with our weapons," Gobber said to them and wobbled faster to his chief to catch up. "Do ye think it's him? He would be deluded enough to-

"He's not a deluded person," Stoick shook his head. "Not for that matter. He simply wouldn't care enough for his guard – he's a man that only cares for himself and profit."

Fishlegs eyed his friends nervously as they listened. Had they met another Drago? Were they _referring_ to Drago? Just the thought alone, of the man who had ruined the life of so many on Berk, sent chills down his spine and fear to his heart. A sudden worry washed over him as well – was Hiccup okay?

He knew his friend was going through a lot ever since he returned – they all did just not in the same scale as him of course, and he had seen how hard it affected him. Especially when Alvin was brought up.

"Chief?" Fishlegs whimpered. The chief kept walking, not giving him his acknowledgement. Even so, the Viking kept going. "Do you think one of us should go to Hiccup?" he said nervously. "Because if he is a selfish man like you make him out to be-I-I think the best would be to..."

Stoick slowly moved away some branches and Fishlegs immediately trailed off. He stepped ahead in awe, having to get pulled back by Gobber's hook. The twins peeked over his shoulders.

In front of them was the view of a massive village lit up by the torches of the street. What astounded them the most were the huge Viking ships docked to the village – they took up more space than the village did itself. Though for the most part the village was darkened by the night, the torches gave them a short view of the structures and the cultural insight they gave off.

The wood seemed to be of an expensive sort – carrying a greyish blue tone to them, and the houses were decorated by carpets and banners of three specific colors; red, green and white. The only banners that seemed to be a different style were the ones surrounding the docks and the ships settled by them – they represented a certain richness through the bright colors.

"Is this a trading place?" Gobber murmured in awe. He immediately tried to get a look at what the ships were offering, but everything seemed to be either under deck or covered by cloth.

Stoick's eyes narrowed. There was no doubt that it was – the only reasonable explanation beside from that was that the tribe was celebrating, which didn't seem as reasonable when one looked at the dull and slightly dirty banners of the village.

But the fact that it was a trading ground didn't worry the chief – what worried him was the village itself and its chief. It couldn't possibly be Einar – he wasn't capable of structure or even as much as the dealer business alone.

"I don't see any dragons around here either," Fishlegs whimpered faintly and stepped more into the shadows. Stoick moved the branches in front of them again but left them apart enough for him to keep looking. "Are they not dragon friendly Vikings?"

"Well, there is a possibility considering we're so far out from home," Gobber thought out loud through a mumble. He looked over the village one more time. "Best not to take any chances."

"Aye," Stoick nodded and kept looking. He eyed the guards that were wandering around the village – a torch in their hand and a bow, or a crossbow, in their other. After a few more minutes of spying, he pulled forward the branches again and let go. "We should head back – there's nothing more to learn while everyone is asleep-

"Eh, chief?" Fishlegs cut him off nervously. The chief looked at him slightly annoyed, but soon realized.

"Those muttonheads...!" Stoick roared quietly as he noticed the twins were gone. He moved away the branches again, just in time to see the two try to sneak their way to the docks – their main targets painfully obvious.

Gobber facepalmed. "Oh boy," he muttered and leaned against the tree in defeat.

Ruffnut slapped her brother's arm and pointed at a guard that was coming their way. They both immediately hid behind the wooden fences of the docks and stayed silent.

"Maybe it's not that bad-

Tuffnut immediately jumped out of his cover when the guard was about to stand beside them and held his hands up in the air. "BOO!"

The guard gave a not-so-manly scream at the mud-covered creature before him. Almost immediately, he grabbed Tuffnut and pushed him down to the ground before the Viking could even advance further. The two wrestled for a bit before Tuffnut finally stopped at his sister's shriek.

When he looked aside, a crossbow was pointed at the girl's head and all around them, from all the different hide points and watchtowers of the village, were archers with their bows raised at them.

Tuffnut gulped and laughed awkwardly. "Bonjour-hey!" He groaned as the man flipped him over and pinned him down with his hands on his back. Another guard assisted him in tying him up while Ruffnut was treated no differently.

Stoick grumbled under his breath and watched them get dragged away.

"Maybe...I was wrong..." Fishlegs whimpered slightly.

"This ain't good," Gobber shook his head and looked at his friend. "What do ye suggest we do?"

Stoick stayed silent in thoughts. He shook his head and let the branches cover them again. "We have to head back before we get spotted as well," he nodded at them to get going while he followed shortly after.

Fishlegs looked behind them helplessly before he continued to jog back the way they came. He didn't want to leave them behind, but more than that he didn't want to blow their cover as well – especially without their dragons.

"Let's hope the others have better luck than us..." Stoick sighed and looked behind him once more. Even though the two could get on his nerves, he could only pray silently to the Gods to spare them.

Hiccup stared absently into the fire.

Astrid looked outside at the forest with a sigh. "Still no sign of them..." she said and gently stroked Cloudjumper's wing as she passed by him towards Hiccup.

Snotlout groaned and fell back against his dragon, hands propped up behind his head and legs crossed over one another. "I sure hope they found something better," he muttered and watched his fish cook.

"We _did_ find something, Snotlout," Astrid reminded him and shook her head. She sat down beside Hiccup, resting her hand gently on his shoulder to not startle him. The Viking didn't budge. "I'd rather hope that they _don't_ find anything. We'll need everyone if we're going to rescue the slaves."

"We don't even know if there are slaves down there!" Snotlout said irritated, waving around his hand. "They could have moved them-

"Which is why we're regrouping so we can figure out a plan to scout the pit," Viggo cut him off a bit harshly. He was clearly getting annoyed by the lad.

Snotlout eyed him offended. He soon sighed as he realized what a pain he was and apologized. "I get mad when I'm hungry...and tired," he murmured.

"We all do," Valka assured him with a smile. She gently picked up her stick with the cooked fish on and held it to him. "Help yourself."

Snotlout looked at her surprised. He smiled gratefully and took it – not a second passed before he started to tear the poor fish apart.

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his eyes as he was pulled out of his thoughts. He moved more sticks onto the fire and slowly wrapped his arm around Astrid's waist. The shield maiden smiled faintly and rested her head on his shoulder. Her hand slowly went to his.

"We'll get them out," Astrid assured him. "I don't know how – but we will. I just know it."

Hiccup sighed and leaned his head on hers. He held her hand tightly. "I hope you're right," he whispered and held her closer. His eyes kept watching the flames dance in front of him and for the longest of time, the cave was filled with nothing but the breathing of the dragons around them.

When footsteps started to approach them, everyone got out of their comfort zones and reached for the nearest weapon. They watched carefully as the dragons checked for danger, but soon relaxed as they cleared the way for their fellow Berkians.

"Dad-

"We have a problem," Stoick said the moment he stepped into view. He put his axe down and greeted his wife for a short moment.

Hiccup fell silent to let him speak, but soon realized. The twins.

"Where's Ruff and Tuff?" Astrid asked worried. She gripped her axe tighter.

"Those muttonheads went ahead and got caught," Gobber sighed and sat down by Grump. He pulled out some dry fish from his saddlebag and started to eat it.

Stoick nodded to confirm it. He slowly sat down on a rock, all the attention turned to him. "We found their village," he started, looking over the Vikings – his eyes resting on his son's for a moment longer. "There's no doubt that they are dealing with trades – most likely with other tribes in the area."

"Like their own Trader Johann?" Snotlout snorted. "Wouldn't that just be a nightmare..."

"It's more than that!" Fishlegs exclaimed a little too excited. "There are traders from every tribe – not just one! The tribe must be really rich or important for having it right at their doorsteps!"

"We don't _know_ for sure," Stoick cleared it out for them before Fishlegs could continue throwing out his theories. "We only saw so much in the dark. Did you have any better luck?" he looked to his son who shook his head.

"It was too dark and foggy up the mountain. But we know for sure there are slaves trapped down in the prison," Hiccup explained. "We _saw_ statues up at the top – statues searching for a savior," he said before Snotlout could comment – it shut him up right away. "I'm most certain those were representing the ones imprisoned down there, but we had to stop searching since we couldn't see anything."

"We should bring the dragons with us tomorrow morning. Hopefully then the fog has cleared, but...How do we get the twins back?" Astrid looked at the chief. "Only Thor knows how much they have already said."

Snotlout shook his head. "I know the two. Even though they come off as insanely stupid, which they in truth are." There were a few nods and grunts of agreement. "They have their own tricks. Getting captured for them is probably nothing but a game."

"We should still try to attempt a rescue tomorrow, though," Valka said and looked up at her husband. "But first, we scout. Did you learn anything else about the village?"

"They carry a lot of long-range weapons!" Fishlegs said, raising his hand. "From what I could see, they didn't have any swords or axes on them."

"Which means they will most likely be prepared to scout from afar," Hiccup said in thoughts.

"That's the strange thing," Fishlegs shook his head and everyone looked at him. "We encountered two guards patrolling the woods. They only carried a dagger at their side aside from a bow or a crossbow."

Stoick nodded. "Aye. It wouldn't be enough if they got ambushed."

Hiccup nodded slowly, his mind processing the information. He tried to put it all together in one image while they kept explaining.

"But that's good, right?" Snotlout sat up. He punched his fist in his palm. "It makes it easier for us to take them down."

"It would, but that's not what we're here for," Stoick reminded the Viking. He sighed and shook his head. "It's hard to know – they're Vikings, but not every Viking is as hard-headed and stupid as the stereotypes say they are."

"We should be cautious," Hiccup spoke up after a moment of silence. "If they rely on long-range weapons, they will most likely have more scouts than we can imagine. It would profit them more in a tribe where dealing is the highpoint of the day – to spot thieves and theft much easier. But for all we know, it could just be a cover-up."

The Vikings nodded in agreement.

"So, what's the plan?" Gobber asked with a small grunt as he shifted position. He fixed his moustache with his hook. "The twins are captured, there are hostages in a foreign prison..." he summed it up.

"We'll wait until morning," Stoick spoke up. "Bring a few of the dragons to help us scout the mountain. But we'll have to make new groups – I don't want you going down there alone," he said sternly to his son.

"I'm not _alone_ ," Hiccup argued slightly. "But I'll be glad to have the support. So, do we shuffle the teams?"

"Aye," The chief nodded.

"Gobber and Val..."

"I can't BELIEVE I'm stuck on rescuing the twins," Snotlout groaned loudly as he walked through the woods, stomping at every branch in his way angrily. "So much for trying to support them..."

"Ye know, if the other's get caught, we'll be the only ones to save 'em," Gobber shrugged and pushed away a branch. "Or would ye rather sit in a cell with them for Thor knows how long?"

"At least it would guarantee adventure," Snotlout grumbled. "So, remind me, _why_ are we trying to save the twins again?"

"Because that's what they would have done for you," Valka said, giving him a small glare.

"And _why_ did we only bring _Meatlug_?" Snotlout muttered a bit lower. He had argued that they should bring Hookfang instead, but the others clearly found it better to bring a smaller dragon along.

Meatlug warbled and whined. She rubbed herself against her rider for comfort – not liking the idea of feeling less worth than the other dragons.

"He didn't mean it like that, Meatlug!" Fishlegs whined and hugged her head lovingly. "He's just jealous that you are way more loyal and cuddlier than Hookfang!" He smiled and Meatlug immediately shook her tail excitedly – tongue out in glee,

"Tch," Snotlout snorted and kept walking.

"We brought her because – believe it or not, she is the better choice," Gobber rolled his eyes and led them to the spot they had been the night before. It looked quite different in the daylight, so it had become a bit harder to maneuver through it all without taking the wrong path.

Regardless of the extra time it took, they still arrived in a short amount of time and began scouting for any signs of the twins. The village almost reminded them of Berk – everyone was minding their own business; doing their chores; committing to the community. The only thing that stood out, of course, was the now alive market at the docks.

There were three ships docked to the village. Their traders were standing in front of their ship with food scattered around them – each trader presenting their tribe's best resources.

The trader furthest away from the hidden Vikings carried a bright blue banner and the sails of the ship carried a large crest in yellow; a pickaxe crossed with a hammer as their symbol. Surely enough, the tribe was offering jewelry and gems of all kind. Snotlout stared hungrily for its great value, imagining the fortune he would receive by selling it around the archipelago.

The second trader was docked in the middle with bright and deep green banner and sails; the crest carried two arrows in a cross and a hoe in the background. In front of the ship, the trader was selling his tribe's finest of food and stock – offering everything from fruits to furs. Fishlegs couldn't help but stare at everything in awe. There was so much he hadn't seen before – so many animal furs he wanted to feel between his fingertips.

Last, but not least, the third trader docked closest to them carried a bright orange base with a blood red crest; the symbol was nothing more original than two curved swords in a cross. The trader was stocked on weapons of all sort – the metal was nothing like Gobber had seen before and the weapon itself was outside of their knowledge. He wanted nothing more but to go down there himself and steal some of the trader's knowledge with his own eyes.

"This isn't good," Valka shook her head as she scanned the Village over and over, searching for any hope or sign that the twins had escaped, but as far as she could tell the village wasn't showing at all that they had found trespassers. If it was Berk, Stoick wouldn't have let the Vikings sleep until they found the rest.

"I don't see Ruffnut or Tuffnut anywhere," Valka said and eyed the ships again. "And for there to be romans this far out," she said as she looked at the ship closest to them. "It's not looking good for them or us."

"Uh-huh," The three Vikings grunted simultaneously, still staring at their favorite trader. Valka looked over at them confused, but soon groaned silently in her mind. She understood now why Stoick didn't want the three to scout alone.

Valka raised her staff and smacked the three of them in the back of their heads, one at a time. The three Vikings groaned and yelped, all mirroring each other one after another until she had finally caught their attention. "Focus," She hissed faintly. "We're here to find the twins-not shop with our eyes!"

"Sorry, ma'am," They murmured like three grown-up men who had done something wrong – which in this case they had.

Snotlout looked around in the village and finally took in the sight before him, letting everything process in his head; their patterns; their habits; their attitudes. The first thing he seemed to notice, was that there were specific guards walking in specific paths – they didn't switch it up with other guards, but unfortunately, they seemed to cover every spot of the village.

"Wait," Fishlegs said as he noticed something. He pointed at the guards up in one of the high watchtowers – they were placed around the village like a wall of protection. "They're wearing different armor."

Valka narrowed her eyes as she tried to get a better look. She soon took out the spyglass, upon remembering it was in her bag, and held it towards the watchtower. Surely enough, the bulky Viking was right. Just as her husband had explained that night, most of the guards were wearing nothing but a bow and a crossbow in their hand, but the men stepping up to them were more alike them than the rest of the guards – they carried shields on their backs and swords and maces in their hands.

Not only that, but their armor was different as well; the archers wore light, leather protection with only their kneecaps, shoulders and heads covered by metal – everything had a bright color to them. The melee guards, on the other hand, wore dragon scales; their chest plate was designed by dragon scales; their shoulder pads covered in scales and remains of dragon spikes; Their clothes were dull as well, sharing no life to them unlike the archers.

"Maybe we were wrong," Gobber shook his head lightly and waved it off. "They could have a specific pattern for when their melee fighters protect the village and when the archers do."

Valka bit her lip as she tried to think it out. The two men who were discussing seemed to be anything but from the same village. Something wasn't right.

"Do you think they could be talking about the twins?" Fishlegs whimpered slightly. "Maybe they are guards from the prison!"

"Could be," Snotlout nodded slowly as he thought as well. "But we won't know until the others are inside. We'll need to figure out what to do."

"Aye," Gobber nodded and turned away from the village – the branches covering him from anyone's view. "I would suggest we wait and see if we can spot their chief. It would help a great lot if we can identify him for Stoick-

"Is that him?" Snotlout motioned his head towards the slightly bulky, but well-dressed man that was chatting with some of the guards. Unlike the rest of his people, he wore clothes of gold – necklaces of the most valuable crystals. Aside from that, there was a golden headband visible in his deep brown and greyish locks of hair. "Does he know he's wearing girl clothes?" Snotlout snickered at his long skirt.

"Ye wouldn't laugh if ye saw what was hiding beneath," Gobber rolled his eyes and Snotlout grimaced. "I once wore one of those too-

"Too much information, Gobber," Snotlout groaned and covered his mouth at the thought. He supported himself on a tree while the old blacksmith laughed.

"Shh!" Valka slapped Gobber's arm and he immediately shut up. She moved her spyglass to her side and eyed the chieftain carefully – there was no doubt it was him, but she had never once seen him before. Even though they were outside the known lands of the Archipelago patterns, she was hoping she'd recognize him through any kind of feature, but she didn't. She couldn't recognize him from Stoick's meetings.

"Is that their general beside him?" Fishlegs whispered quietly. The man that accompanied the chief stood out more than the other guards. He was a bulky, tall, but bald man with a longsword on his back. Unlike the archers of the town, he was wearing much alike the melee guards – he had spikey metal shoulder plates and a tunic made from dragon scales. What terrified them most though, was the skull on his belt – a human skull.

"Guessing by his armor and that skull," Gobber grimaced. "I wouldn't say they are very friendly."

"I don't see any dragoons around either," Fishlegs said worried. "Did they-

"That's because they killed them," Valka soon hissed in realization. She pointed her staff towards the commander in anger. "He's wearing them as his trophies."

Meatlug whimpered and backed away. She looked at her rider scared – clearly wanting nothing more than to be back at the cave now.

"Oh, Meatlug!" Fishlegs whimpered too and hugged the frightened dragon. He held her close lovingly. "They won't lay a single hand on you when I'm here!" He smiled reassuringly, but soon whimpered and hugged her tighter. "Who am I kidding? I vote that we go back to Berk!"

"And let them keep murdering dragons?" Snotlout spat at Fishlegs. "Not happening. Now man up already!" He said harshly and walked up to Valka who had been pulled back by Gobber to avoid blowing their cover. "I guess there's a change of plans."

Valka nodded angrily. She took a deep breath to collect herself slightly – although it hardly made her inner rage disappear. "We'll keep scouting and collect information. If they get spotted entering the prison, we'll have to do our best to take action from the outside."

"Val," Gobber said as he finally stood up straight again. She looked at him for a split second before her eyes went back to glare the man down – who was oblivious of her presence. "Don't ye think its weird?" This time, she tore her eyes off her target and looked at the Blacksmith. "The commander doesn't seem very fond of the chief."

"Do you think Stoick is fond of Spitelout?" Valka raised an eyebrow and looked back at her target. As she did, the commander walked a bit further behind the chieftain – who seemed to be leading their conversation. The suspiciousness rose when he eyed the melee guards and nodded carefully at them.

"Yer missing the point," Gobber shook his head and motioned to the men. "In my eyes, it looks like two different tribes!"

Fishlegs looked at Gobber surprised before he eyed over the Vikings of the village again. There didn't seem to be any villagers who matched their clothing or armor with the fighters. "Now that you mention it..."

The Viking trailed off slowly as everyone had their eyes glued on the same target – the target that was slowly unsheathing his sword from his back. Their eyes widened. "He's going to-

 _"INTRUDERS IN THE PRISON!"_

\- Earlier -

Hiccup gently laid his hand on Toothless' head as they got up to the top of the mountain. The last thing he wanted was for his friend to fall over the edge that was yet again covered in the white, dancing mist by their feet.

The Night Fury was still glowing – even more so as it stepped closer to the mountain, but due to the sunlight above them it blended out completely and he was seen no less or more than the surrounding Vikings.

"At least we know now that it's normal," Astrid murmured as she stepped up beside them – her eyes scanning the mist for any safe passage.

Stoick eyed everything from where he stood – a few steps behind his son. His dragon had warned him about taking any further steps which the chief didn't question one bit. "Where is the entrance?" He looked at Hiccup.

"We didn't find any yesterday," The heir shook his head and turned slightly to face his father and Viggo. He eyed the other male carefully as he started to look around and retrace their steps slightly. "It was too dark and misty, but it doesn't seem to have changed. Any clues?" He asked Viggo.

Viggo slowly lifted his finger and Hiccup took it as a moment to stay silent – the Viking was the only one who had ever been anywhere near the exit after all. He slowly backed down the hilltop again but made sure to still stay in the area that the fog reached.

"I remember when fleeing that the first thing I saw was the mist," Viggo said slowly as he kneeled and searched around with his hands. "I thought it was a possible waterfall – but it wouldn't make sense since it was so silent."

Hiccup eyed him one final time before he nodded at his father and Astrid to start searching as well. He rubbed Toothless' head and together, they started to search for any possible entrance. "Was there a door there?"

"Not that I can remember," Viggo shook his head. "So be careful where you step-

Toothless yelped as he slipped on his paws and faceplanted down to a small cave. He sat up right away and shook his head to shake away all the dirt and the buzzing pain from his nose. When the dragon had recovered from the surprise, he cooed and waved with his tail up in the air.

Hiccup chuckled slightly and carefully jumped down to him. He took Astrid's hand and helped her down before he helped down his father and Viggo as well. The rumblehorn carefully flew down after them and made sure no one was following.

"Good job, bud," Hiccup smiled and rubbed Toothless' scales before he finally looked up at the sight before him. The hidden cave was lit up by the sunbeams that penetrated the mist, but it only covered enough for a few footsteps ahead until the path seemed to end completely.

Hiccup cautiously stepped forward, stretching his hand back towards Toothless to keep him at a small distance in case it wasn't sturdy for his weight. He slowly went to the edge, his eyes widening at the sight. The mist was flowing up from below in a stream that only first erupted at the top of the mountain.

All around the phenomenon were caves with bars – seemingly dug out by hand. The level of they stood on seemed to be the only that didn't have such caves, but instead it had guards that carried crossbows and bows.

Hiccup slowly backed away and watched them from where he stood. He motioned for the others to be silent – although they already were, and then he finally analyzed the sight before him.

Inside most of the caves – there were at least a hundred in sight, prisoners- _slaves_ sat with their hands tightly chained around the bars restricting their movement. A image flashed before Hiccup's eyes – almost like a flashback;

 _The rusty chains were scratching at his thin wrists – the itching skin beneath as a torture itself. His hands hung loosely at the other end of the bars until a guard on patrol walked by to smack them with his sword handle for the fun of it._

 _Whenever his mind and his body would doze off, the guard was back in front of him, smacking him awake through his aching fingertips. Sleep wasn't an option there. Rest was out of the picture. Rest_ _was for the weak._

Hiccup stumbled backwards slightly as he was thrown back into the current. He looked around himself, jumping faintly as he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Viggo's.

"You remember, don't you?" Viggo whispered, looking deeply into his eyes. Hiccup looked back into his for a moment before he looked at the Vikings behind him – their eyes were filled with endless of worry. Shakily, the heir nodded, but waved him off.

"I-I'll be fine," Hiccup whispered, barely able to get a word out. He motioned with his head towards the opening, and the Vikings took turns on analyzing the guard's positions. When everyone had taken their turn, they regrouped furthest away from the opening.

"Seems like the guard across from us has the keys," Astrid said and motioned to the guard who was still oblivious to their presence. The three males nodded carefully. "I can get to him if you cover me."

Hiccup wanted to protest but knew better than so. He nodded and looked at his father. "It'll be almost impossible to take them down silently – but we'll have to try. It's our only chance."

"Aye," Stoick nodded and rested his hand on his shoulder. He pointed with his other hand towards the guard. "There are two guards on each side of him, but we don't know what's beneath us. Take them out quickly," he said to the three and they nodded eagerly.

When everything was settled, Hiccup and Stoick approached the opening first with Viggo and Astrid hot on their heels. The dragons walked silently behind them, ready to act if it got heated. They eyed their surroundings one final time, nodded at each other in confirmation, before finally tiptoeing out of their hiding spot and towards the nearest Vikings.

Hiccup was quick to grab the equally tall guard by his unprotected head and smashed it into the cave wall beside them. Stoick almost mirrored his boy with the guard, connecting the flat side of his axe to the man's head not a second later. It didn't take long before the rest of the guards around them became alert and Stoick had already thrown his axe at the next guard – Astrid taking her aim at the same second and hitting the guard across from the exit in his head.

The last guard took his aim at his closest target, but before he could shoot the heir, Viggo was already in front of him and in a swift motion knocked him out gold with his dagger's handle. Before either of the Vikings dared to move, Hiccup made it clear for them that the guards below hadn't been alerted.

Astrid hurried over to the keys and unhooked them from the man. She held them tightly in her fist – making sure that they didn't jiggle and pulled out her axe from the man's skull. They had made it clear with each other to avoid any violence unless it was necessary, but through her – and Stoick's, quick judgement it seemed unavoidable if they wanted to reach their goal.

With the keys in her hand and the Vikings armed up, they regrouped at the staircase that led down towards the second highest level of the prison – the second highest floor with the slaves tied up by their hands.

As Hiccup eyed the level below him for a moment, he noticed there was no more than a guard patrolling the level and just as his flashback had reminded him, the guard was smacking them awake one by one. The Vikings watched him for any answers, but no word came out of his mouth. He backed away from the edge and lifted his finger to his lips.

Slowly, the steps started to close in on them and the yolts of chains became louder and clearer. The wood creaked below them and the guard snickered to himself – satisfied by the reaction of certain inmates. However, the satisfaction was soon replaced with bare shock and pain as an axe was knocked flat against his helmet.

The guard fell down unconscious.

Hiccup nodded at the others and Stoick hurried down the stairs first. He eyed his father carefully who scanned the floor and then finally gave them the sign that it was clear. When Hiccup hurried down after Viggo, he right away looked at the slaves while Astrid got the keys ready.

The first thing he noticed was that most of them were starved – their ripped clothes revealed their unhealthy bodies with their bones poking against the dirtied skin. It brought back another flashback in Hiccup's mind straight away;

 _Days had passed in the pit – the sun had disappeared and reappeared countless of times through the cover of the mist above. He couldn't seem to remember how many hits he had taken since his last meal. He couldn't remember the satisfying feeling of chewing and swallowing down thick substance._

 _Water was his only company for what seemed like weeks. He was starved to the point of his dozing body closing in on the silent life of the dead. He was allowed nothing more but the water to satisfy his body – though it was nothing like the food he had once eaten and feasted on. The food he no longer could remember._

"Hiccup," Astrid whispered and placed her hand on his. Her axe was strapped back on her back and the other hand still held the keys firmly. "We need to help them," She reminded him as she had recognized those distant eyes. Hiccup shook his head faintly as he came back to the current and he nodded. He helped her keep the lock up while she searched for the right key.

The slave slowly lifted her head – her body trembling because of her weakened muscles - her lips were dried and a faint blue – her cheekbones poking out like a deceased. Slowly, her eyes met Astrid's and the shield maiden witnessed a sudden change – her lifeless eyes started to shine with hope.

Astrid smiled reassuringly as she tried the different keys for the bars. "Don't worry," She whispered. "You're getting out of here." The woman weakly sat up and tried to pull her hands back, but Hiccup made sure to keep them still while Astrid got the lock. "Got it!" She said and hurried to unlock her.

Hiccup nodded and finally let go of her hands. While Astrid helped her, he took the keys and hurried to the next cell. His eyes lit up as he saw that the slave must be new to the prison – he had far more meat on his bones than the other. "Have you seen any prisoners come in here newly?" He whispered to him hopefully – they still had to find the twins after all.

The man slowly shook his head, seeming unsure. He opened his mouth but shut it again as he watched the Viking unlock him.

"Alright," Hiccup nodded with a small sigh and looked around. "Can you walk?" The man nodded and carefully got up. "Help me get the others free too," he said and the two hurried to the next slave who was no different from the first. "Come on," Hiccup said a bit harshly to the man as he got distracted. He stopped and followed his eyes – he was staring at Viggo.

Viggo looked at him questioningly and soon went over to Hiccup to help since the man was suddenly so absent. He helped the lad free the man from the chains and guided him over to Astrid – then they repeated the process on the whole floor.

Stoick lifted his head over the edge to see the guards below them still minding their own business. It was a long way to go and he knew his son had set an unrealistic goal to save them all – the bottom of the prison led to more hallways it seemed with more prison cells and even more guards.

"Son," He whispered and went over to the group of the weak prisoners. Some were unable to stand at all and were laid up on the dragon's backs. "We have to come back another time," he said sadly and gestured to the slaves. They were too many to carry all alone – their resources were far too little as well.

Hiccup shook his head in disbelief. "No-we can get them all, we just need to take care of the guards first-

"Son," Stoick said a bit harsher which shut him up. As the two discussed, the floor above them slowly started to creak. "We _can't_."

Astrid looked up confused at the sound. She slowly laid the slave in her arm up against one of the cell doors and brought her axe down from her back. Viggo seemed to tense up as well.

"But there are _so_ _many more_ ," Hiccup whispered, looking at his father. "We can't leave them all behind-

"We don't have enough resources or men to take them back!" Stoick whisper-shouted and Hiccup fell silent again. "This wasn't our mission-

"Guys," Astrid hissed at them. She rose her finger to her lips and pointed above them – the two finally broke out of their little argument and realized what was happening. Before anyone could react, one of the previously knocked out guards leaned heavily against the wooden fence and yelled out to the guards below;

" _INTRUDERS IN THE PRISON!"_

The dragons growled deeply and looked up and Stoick's dragon didn't hesitate to run up the stairs and push the guard over the edge. He roared and covered the Vikings as they did their best to gather up the slaves and run back up the stairs.

Hiccup ran ahead with one of the slaves leaning heavily on his shoulder – his arm supporting beneath the man's shoulder blades. He stopped behind Skullcrusher and nodded the others up and ahead of him first. "Let's go!" He yelled and watched Astrid and Viggo run ahead with a slave each and out the cave. Toothless climbed the stairs next, spreading his wings lightly as he ran to make sure that the passengers on his back didn't fall off. "Come on, dad!"

"Hang on!" Stoick yelled and got his axe as the guards were running up to his level. He threw it at the first Viking and grabbed two of the slaves – there were still three left but none of them could run on their own. With a shake of his head, he ran up the stairs and was about to run out together with Hiccup when fire was shot at their feet.

The two stopped abruptly and Skullcrusher growled deeply. A dragon hoovered in front of the steam – chains tightly wrapped around its jaw and up its neck. On top of it, sat a guard.

Hiccup's eyes widened at the sight. He halted at first, staring at it completely puzzled. He hadn't seen any dragons and neither had his father when they scouted the village, but there was a guard riding one? By the looks of the chains, it didn't seem like a tamed one.

"Come on," Stoick yelled and pushed his son ahead to the exit. He followed shortly with the two but yelped as the dragon shot again and the fire splattered up his feet. He fell forward – the woman under his left arm crying out in pain at the burn.

"Dad!" Hiccup cried out as he realized. He turned to head back and help, but Skullcrusher got him before he could. The dragon flew up behind his rider and nudged him back up on his feet. Together, the two managed to get out and cleared away from the entrance as another shot was fired at them.

"Astrid," Hiccup said as he noticed she got ready to run down the hill with the woman in her arms. The Viking turned to him for a moment before urging him to start running as well. He looked back at Toothless who whimpered at the heavy weight on his back. It seemed almost impossible to carry them all – even after leaving behind three of them.

Hiccup looked around completely helpless. The guards were catching up to them and the dragon was still firing out of the entrance – it first stopped after a few seconds and was replaced by heavy footsteps.

Soon familiar roars erupted from the sky above them and the Vikings spotted their dragons coming to their aid – they had sensed the distress of their alpha and reacted quickly. Hiccup sighed relieved at that and helped lift the prisoners up to their claws. Astrid quickly leapt onto Stormfly's back when she arrived and Viggo did the same with Hookfang.

Cloudjumper carefully let Toothless up on his back and Skullcrusher picked up his rider and his son and in less than a minute they were out of the guards' reach and heading back to safety.

While Hiccup steered the dragon out of danger, Stoick held the two prisoners up with a hiss. When he looked down at his feet, he could see blood dripping faintly, but it wasn't from him. The girl's leg was badly hit.

"This is bad," Hiccup murmured and looked around. "Toothless-can you shake the rider off?" He yelled to his dragon as he noticed the rider was still following them closely.

Toothless cooed and gently laid the prisoners down. He roared loudly at the dragon – it halted mid-air and despite the protests of its rider it turned around and started to head back to where they came from.

Hiccup sighed relieved and nodded at him with a smile. He led the others down below to the forest and through the trees until they were finally by their hideout. Everything from then on went like a flash – the Vikings that they had rescued were set inside on makeshift beds, sharing blankets and pillows.

The girl who was hit by the flames had passed out from the pain which relieved Hiccup slightly as he started to take care of her wound. Stoick kneeled beside his son to watch his work, but Hiccup protested. "Dad-you're injured too," He moved his hand away from the woman's leg and looked up at his father. "I'll take care of you in a second, okay?"

"I'm alright, son," Stoick shook his head and helped him carefully hold up her leg. "The blood isn't mine. I was barely scratched."

Hiccup eyed him one final time before he nodded – deciding they had enough arguments for the day and continued her leg. He carefully cleaned it up and left a wet rag on the wound before he bandaged it up. It was the best they could do for now.

"Let me see," Hiccup said and washed his hands. His father sighed and slowly sat down. He ripped the pants a bit more open from the burnt fabric and looked, nodding slightly and murmuring to himself. He soon treated his wound with some water to cool it down before covering it with ointment since it wasn't nearly as bad as the woman's.

Stoick bit his lip tightly and looked up at the ceiling as his son treated his wound. After some time, his eyes fell over to the two hard working Vikings who were tending to the starved Vikings – sticks with fish and chicken had already been set up against the newly made bonfire.

It didn't take long before footsteps were heard, and the dragons stepped aside to let the four Vikings on patrol in. Valka sighed relieved right away at the sight of the four. "We heard the guards," she said and looked around at all the people inside the cave. Her eyes soon widened as she saw Hiccup tending to Stoick's wound. "What happened?" She asked and hurried over to help.

Stoick sighed and moved is leg around slightly when Hiccup was done. "We met a dragon rider on the way out. He wasn't particularly friendly."

"Dragon rider?" Valka asked confused. "But..."

Gobber walked up to the three while Snotlout and Fishlegs aided Astrid the best they could. "We found something interesting about the village," he said and slumped down against Grump with a sigh – the energy it took to run back finally paying back at his body.

Valka nodded at that and Hiccup and Stoick looked at her. "The archers belong to the original tribe while the melee fighters to another. They must have just signed a peace treaty since they are still here and guarding for the village."

Stoick nodded slowly at that. "That would make sense."

"So, they are just here for the moment?" Hiccup looked between his mother and the blacksmith who nodded.

"That's our guess, but they don't seem particularly friendly to one another," Gobber chuckled faintly. "Especially not the fighters-

"The dragon hunters," Valka corrected him with a slightly harsher tone than she intended to. Hiccup's eyes widened. There were dragon hunters on the island? But then why was that guard riding...

"Right, sorry," Gobber chuckled awkwardly. "If it hadn't been for ye, the chief of the _dragon hunters_ would have decapitated their leader and started a war!"

Hiccup eyed him carefully together with his father and the two soon met each other's eyes. If the dragon hunters were implying a peace treaty at all, wouldn't it be sketchy to try to kill off their allies?

"That's strange..." Hiccup murmured, and his father agreed. He shook his head. "Any sign of the twins?" He looked at them hopefully.

Valka shook her head. "No sign of them anywhere. They must be locked up somewhere else."

Hiccup sighed at that and nodded. "Alright," he slowly got up and looked around for a moment, counting the Vikings that they had been able to save. Most of them were in terrible shape, but they didn't seem to have any serious wounds. The ones that were able to move better than the others were sitting by the fire and enjoying the heat while the food cooked.

"We'll have to give them some time," His father reminded him, and his son looked at him. He had clearly seen that Hiccup wanted to get information – to save his friends, but the same determination from when they were going to rescue them wasn't there anymore. "They've been through enough already."

Hiccup bit his lip slightly and looked over them yet again. He was about to talk up when one of the Vikings by the fire slowly lifted his head up and spoke;

" _We owe you for helping us escape,"_ He said calmly, and his eyes met Hiccup's – determination filled within his eyes more than anything else. " _Is there anything we can give in return?"_

Hiccup eyed his father, breaking the gaze with the stranger. He looked at him for confirmation, and the chief soon nodded him ahead and their eyes met again. He walked closer to the male and slowly kneeled beside him. "What can you tell us about the tribe?"

The man pursed his lips for a moment and his eyes fell onto the fire before him and the food that was cooked above it. After a deep breath, he slowly closed his eyes and started to tell them everything of his knowledge.


	16. Chapter 16

" _It all started with a single raid."_

The man spoke softly, looking deeply into the soul of the dancing fire before him. It had become clear that the two prisoners who accompanied him by the fire belonged to the same tribe as him – though no one could recognize them by their ripped clothes and weakened appearances. Hiccup doubted that they had ever come across the tribe before – let alone have a peace treaty with them.

" _Queen Mala...our divine leader,"_ He sighed and looked up at them. "We were lucky to get her to safety before the dragon riders came to enslave our people – though I doubt by her bravery that she went unnoticed."

"Queen Mala..." Hiccup murmured slightly as he tried to remember the name, but to no avail. He looked at the other questioningly, but everyone shared the same puzzled look. No one had heard of her before – no one seemed to recognize anyone who were referred to as _queen_ either.

The man nodded and slowly sat up. He rested his hand on his heart and bowed his head faintly. "I am Throk, her second in command – her right hand," he presented himself and looked up at Hiccup – straight into his eyes. "And I am ever so grateful that you came to our rescue, for now we can return safely to inform our Queen about the rest of our people behind bars."

Hiccup shook his head faintly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We were just lucky to get you out, but we still had to leave someone behind. Who knows how many islands they have raided until now?"

Throk nodded in agreement. "Aye. Far too many to be counted, judging by the number of cells. The worst thing is that I they won't give up – they keep raiding and attacking until they get what they want. They are very dangerous and powerful people."

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his neck faintly. He was starting to put together that Odin was referring to the hunters when he informed him about his new duty. And he knew for sure now that he had been reckless to think that they would only travel for a few days' time.

"Did you see our friends?" Fishlegs whimpered slightly. "Two twins, both blond and braided-

"I am deeply sorry, but I have not," Throk shook his head. "We were escorted from our island in a pitch-black room below the deck of their ship – we hardly saw anyone on our way in. The only one we could truly get an eye on were the guards and our fellow men behind bars."

Fishlegs sighed at that and rubbed his hands in worry. He shared the same look as Astrid – thinking the worst could have happened to their friends.

"But why would they raid you?" Snotlout asked before he could continue talking about his queen – who he clearly worshipped. "Did you have something they wanted?"

Throk eyed him carefully together with the Vikings staring at him for answers. He looked at the two who sat around the fire and they silently nodded their heads. Then he looked back up at the Viking who asked and explained;

"We have a dragon – very precious to our island. It feeds on the lava," Throk said calmly. "Without it, our people and our village would have been drowned in lava decades ago-

"You live with gronckles?" Fishlegs squealed a little too loud. Everyone glared at him and the Viking smacked a hand over his own mouth.

"They don't eat lava, Fishlegs," Valka laughed faintly. She didn't mind his enthusiasm because she felt just as excited on the inside as he was on the outside. Though she spared them of the trouble.

"Let him finish," Stoick grumbled and looked at Throk. He nodded at him and the man returned his nod gratefully.

"We do," Throk nodded slightly. "But they are wild dragons who come and go as the season change. Though the dragon who has kept us safe for centuries, is the _Great Protector_. An Eruptodon."

"Eruptodon...Fishlegs?" Astrid raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Said Viking was already looking through the cards he had made of mysterious species they had yet to discover. He murmured to himself as he argued quietly about what an Eruptodon could be.

Throk chuckled at that. "He is quite the dragon enthusiast."

"The one and only," Snotlout groaned and grabbed the cards from him. He put them in his pocket and looked at Fishlegs unamused as he tried to get them back.

"We have never come across another one of her kind," Throk explained carefully. He didn't feel too comfortable with the male Viking who was watching him in the crowd. His face seemed awfully familiar. "Which is why it is important that we return the protection that she grants us."

"That's understandable," Hiccup nodded and gently ran his hand across Toothless' scales as he came over to him. "We do much the same back on Berk – where we come from. For centuries, we have been at war with the dragons, but we finally managed to come clear and they have given us everything – protection, almost unlimited fish supplies," he chuckled. "We opened our home for them."

Stoick smiled a bit at that. "Aye. They are as welcome as any Viking in need," he nodded and looked at the man. "If the dragon hunters were after the Eruptodon, we can only assume that they will return to your island soon enough."

Throk nodded and carefully got up. "Which is why..." he groaned faintly as he held his side. "We need to return-

"It won't do us any good rushing out," Gobber muttered and gently pushed him back down with his hook. Throk looked at him a bit startled by the bigger Viking. "Or what do ye say chief?"

Stoick nodded in agreement. "Our dragons need rest, and there is no use to go there unprepared and with less men than they probably have," he said and slowly got up. "We'll stay a day or two – scout for the twins and assure that you gain your strength."

Throk sighed and looked at his people. They were in no better shape than himself – their hands were beaten blue and their bodies were weakened by the little food received. Most of all, neither of them had the strength to keep going for the day – they needed the well-deserved peace the strangers were providing them.

"Alright," Throk nodded slowly. "But we'll stay no more than a day. If you won't help us get home to our queen, then we'll do it ourselves."

"Fair enough," Hiccup nodded and got up. He soon looked over at the rest of the people they had saved – they seemed to be of another tribe without a doubt, but they were in no shape to talk yet. "We'll have to split up again," he looked at his father for a moment. "Some of us will have to stay back and make sure that the twins found."

"I guess some of us should stay behind to tend to them as well," Astrid motioned to the resting Vikings. She looked over at Valka for a short moment – the chief's wife was after all the best healer they had brought, but she also knew she wanted to stay by Hiccup's side on the journey much like herself. When no one spoke, she sighed and nodded. "I'll stay behind-

"I will too," Snotlout raised his hand slowly. "Whoever you escaped from will probably send out scouts."

"In that case, we'll need more to stay behind," Stoick said and looked over at Gobber who nodded right away. "Fishlegs?" he looked at the Viking who started to whimper.

"But the Eruptodon..." Fishlegs whined slightly. The chief's glare hardened, and he immediately shut up.

"I guess I will be more useful staying behind as well," Viggo said and rose his hand slightly. "I might not have a dragon, but I do know how to handle a weapon in case the guards find us."

Snotlout grumbled slightly in agreement. "He really can..." he muttered and held his head, remembering the spot that Viggo hit and the threat he gave when he was pinned to the ground.

Hiccup looked at Astrid with slight worry, which the shield maiden shared nonetheless. They had both been anxious for the ride - of what they could possibly find, and now that it turned out to be a greater threat than expected, both feared for the other and their son despite him being safe and sound on Berk.

He nodded slightly at her, giving one of his signature smiles that never settled her nerves – it almost revealed his not so foolproof plans right away.

With a sigh, Astrid looked away and back at the chief as everyone was eyeing the two. When no one said anything, and silence filled the air – except for the cracking fire in the middle of the cave, Stoick cleared his throat.

"It's settled then."

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Hiccup asked, turning slightly to eye the man who sat behind him.

The two days had passed quicker than expected – everyone shifted between scouting and taking care of the injured, but there was still no sign of the twins. The guards in the village didn't show any sign of the twins and it was impossible for them to enter the prison again without getting spotted. So, the chief had decided they would do their best to stick to the plan – follow the prisoners to their home and discuss what they had found with their leaders in hope to make an ally against the dragon hunters and whatever that tribe was.

Throk looked around carefully, scanning the never-ending waters. "We are not used to being on the backs of dragons," he shook his head slightly. "Queen Mala has forbidden it, so maneuvering through them is quite difficult. May I see the map of yours again?"

Hiccup nodded at that and pulled out a notebook from Toothless' saddle bag. "We should stop before we open it," he said and looked around for somewhere to land, but there was nothing in sight – there was no sign of life anywhere around them except for the few tidal dragons. "Wait..." he murmured and leaned forward, holding the book to his chest.

Toothless cooed and looked up at him for a small moment. His ears twitched at the different sounds.

"Can you communicate with them?" Hiccup asked, resting his other hand on his scaly head. He motioned with his head down to the seashockers below and it didn't take long before the alpha understood and swooped down just above the surface.

Valka tensed up a bit at the sudden deformation of their flight pattern. Both her and the chief hadn't yet become used to the fact that both were back – that their son was back, and especially with the message he was told by _Odin himself;_ it had them vary about every move they made.

They had a chance to help their son – _he_ had a chance to live a normal life, and they would do everything in their power to make sure it went through. That he was granted his well-deserved freedom and that he was granted peace between mankind and dragons even if their new mission went south.

Throk watched the dragon fascinated, but silent – he was afraid to disturb the creature whom he barely knew anything from. Their island only had so many legends and tales about the famous specie and he was most certain that he wouldn't stand in its way for anything.

Toothless soon slowed down and Skullcrusher and Cloudjumper halted almost immediately. The stormcutter tilted his head slightly as he watched the alpha communicate with the tidal class beneath them. After one final roar, the seashockers changed direction and it didn't take Toothless a second before he followed them.

"Guess we got a tour guide," Hiccup laughed and rubbed Toothless' head. The Night Fury cooed proudly. "Good job, buddy."

"Magnificent," Throk smiled widely and patted the dragon's side gently. "The dragons are such incredible creatures – I could never imagine why anyone would hurt them."

Hiccup chuckled. "Well there are those who long for power rather than sharing empathy for another specie," He smiled slightly up at him and looked forward again. "What do you think of the ride so far? Would you ever do it again?"

Throk laughed at that. He patted his shoulder gently. "If only Queen Mala will allow it. But yes," he smiled and looked around them, adoring the sight of the sunrise on the open horizon before them. "It's like seeing a whole new world."

"Indeed," Hiccup smiled and looked down below them to the seashockers. It didn't take long before a dot started to shape on the horizon and the passenger on Toothless' back lit up.

"There it is..." Throk whispered. He looked over at his people who shared the same relief and happiness as him. They were finally home.

Hiccup put the notebook down in the saddlebag again and gripped onto the saddle. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still don't know what we can expect to find."

Throk's smile slowly faded at that. He rested his hands on Hiccup's sides and nodded. "Right," he sighed and tensed up a bit – preparing himself both mentally and physically for what was to come. As they closed in more, they soon noticed a heavy, dark cloud erupting from the top of the island. "The volcano must be awake," the man muttered and looked around below them as they were entering his island's territory.

Trees had fallen, and some carried more scorch marks than others – the forest looked like a mess; a warzone. The branches were buried beneath the deep snow blow, carrying no sign of life, and there were peaks of boulders and broken catapults scattered around.

Throk sighed at the sight, but his hope hadn't left him. Now that the volcano was pulsating with no sign of lava flow, he was sure that the Great Protector was safe and sound. But at what cost?

Stoick grunted as he pulled Skullcrusher to a quick halt – darts flew up before them, narrowly missing the thick scales of his dragon. "We're being attacked!" He quickly warned the others and his wife and son was quick to react and pull back their dragons.

Throk looked around hurriedly at that, gripping onto Hiccup's sides a bit harder. "They can't be..." he grumbled as he tried to look around – searching for any sign of their attackers.

"They're not friendly-that's for sure!" Hiccup said and moved Toothless to the side and his dragon hurried to obey. The two swooped down below and quickly maneuvered through the fallen, and standing, trees. When they spotted their attackers, Hiccup pointed ahead and Toothless immediately charged a small blast to shoot at them when they took aim at the trio.

"Wait!" Throk pulled at Hiccup's waist which had him surprised. Hiccup pulled back at Toothless' saddle and the dragon lost his flame and immediately tried to stop his speed. He warbled as he hit a tree and his paws struggled to slow them down until he finally fell forward and faceplanted into the snow.

"Hiccup!" Valka cried out and Cloudjumper immediately swooped down to try and catch them, but they were already by the enemy's feet. She pulled her dragon back hesitantly and hoovered over them, kicking and knocking away any darts that flew her way with her staff.

Stoick roared in anger and steered Skullcrusher up to aid his wife. Meanwhile on the ground, Hiccup quickly peeked his submerged body over the surface and was immediately faced with a sword to his neck. His eyes widened, and he gulped, slowly raising his hands at the woman before him.

A woman, dressed in black leather clothes – with golden details, held the tip of her sword against Hiccup's throat. Her hair was short and blonde, and her eyes a fierce green. There was no doubt she was the leader, but Hiccup hadn't expected the leader of the Dragon Hunters to be female.

Toothless shot his head up and whimpered slightly. He shook his head violently to get rid of the snow but tensed up as he saw his rider in danger. His teeth immediately flashed before them and a deep growl escaped him.

Throk struggled a bit to get out of the deep snow with his damaged side. He shook the snow out of his hair and held his head, slowly looking up.

"Throk?" A half-choked whisper came before him. Said man immediately looked up – eyes wide in recognition.

"Queen Mala..." He whispered, his eyes dwelling up in tears. Slowly, he fumbled his way out of the snow and towards his superior, falling yet again down but on his knees. A small laugh escaped his lips. "You..." he shook his head slowly in disbelief. "I'm so glad you're _alright."_

Hiccup slowly let himself breathe again when the blade was removed from his neck, but it didn't last long. Mala's soldiers yanked him up from the snow and pinned him down at their feet. "Gah!" He yelped as he felt the cold substance eat his body up yet again.

Throk immediately raised his hands – one facing his queen and the other facing the dragons who were prepared to blow his people off the island. "He's not the enemy," He said quickly. Mala looked at him carefully. She slowly turned to them and nodded – the soldiers obeying straight away and loosening their grip.

"You better explain yourself," Queen Mala whispered and moved her sword back in the satchel across her shoulder blades. She raised her hand to her right man in command and he gripped her forearm tightly, pulling himself up on his feet. Her eyes scanned their surroundings carefully but shifted towards the two riders who were landing behind the black dragon. "You better explain why you brought _dragon hunters_ to _our_ home," she hissed faintly.

Throk rose his hands straight away. "They're not what you think they are, my queen. Please," he said calmly, looking into her eyes. Their gaze met. "They saved us," he smiled faintly and stepped aside so she could finally see the rest of the prisoners they had saved.

Mala's eyes widened slowly as she stepped forward. The soldiers' slipped down carefully from the dragon's back and kneeled to greet their queen, but she paid no mind to the formality. She looked at the strangers surprised, a small hint of gratefulness coming through the suspicion in her eyes.

When she had collected herself again, she carefully helped one of them stand up by letting him lean on her frame. Then she finally looked at the people around her – the Vikings who were eyeing her every move and waiting for an order.

"Lead them back to our village," Mala spoke with a faint, but hesitant smile. "We'll discuss this once our friends and families are safe and we know _for sure_ ," she said with a small glare at the Vikings. "That they are our _allies_."

Stoick carefully got down from Skullcrusher's saddle to greet their leader. "You have all the right to be suspicious," he said faintly and rested his axe on his back. "I'm Stoick the Vast, chief of the hairy hooligan tribe – also known as Berk," he said and bowed his head faintly.

Mala looked at him suspiciously. She slowly straightened up, letting the soldier rest against her. "I am Queen Mala the Unbreakable, _leader_ of the Defenders of the Wing – Caldera Cay. I hope you understand that by trespassing our territory, we have every right to take control of you and your people."

Stoick nodded understandingly. "Wouldn't have put it any different myself," he said and reached to help her, but she pulled back – still unsure of the stranger. Silently, he straightened up and laid his hand on Skullcrusher's head. He looked over at Valka for a moment – she had jogged past them to their son and helped him get back on his feet, and then their eyes met again. "Lead the way."

Mala nodded silently and motioned for him her scouts to position behind the dragons. She then started to walk ahead of them and lead them towards the village.

When they arrived there, it was clear that the village was in need. They were lacking resources that were lost in the war – their houses were burnt down by what Stoick assumed to be the hunter's dragons. Barely anything had been rebuilt, which was something he would discuss with her once they were on a better foot about each other. He didn't want to come off even more suspicious by giving them everything and demanding nothing.

"It's been two full moons since the first raid," Mala started to explain as they crossed the plaza – her people were watching them carefully and a few came to aid their queen as well. When the person was lifted off her shoulder, she slowly folded her hands behind her backs and stopped. She turned to them.

"The dragons will stay here," Mala said a bit sternly. The dragons growled right away, but Hiccup rose his hand to calm them down. He rubbed Toothless' head.

"It's alright," Hiccup assured him and looked to the leader. "We've heard a lot from Throk – about what happened. It's terrible-

"Don't give us sympathy," Mala hissed faintly and glared his way. "We are strong – we don't need any dragons or any _hairy_ Vikings to aid us. The only reason we haven't killed you yet, is because of who you brought home."

Hiccup immediately shut his mouth at that. He looked at Stoick who rose his hand to stop him. "We understand," His father spoke for him and nodded at the Queen. "But we do need to discuss it eventually."

"Eventually, yes," Mala nodded and looked over to two of her scouts as they stepped up to the dragons with fruit. "But not now," she said and nodded at them. The two stepped up to the dragons and the three Vikings immediately went up defensively. "Don't worry," she said and took one of the fruits.

Valka looked at it in recognition. "Medicine," she whispered, and Mala looked over at her. The queen nodded.

"It'll calm the dragons," Mala explained. "It's just a precaution," she said and slowly held it to Toothless. The Night Fury peeked his head past Hiccup's body and cooed. He ate it happily and sniffed her for more.

"We used to have it back at the sanctuary," Valka smiled and rested her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "It would help the injured dragons heal."

Hiccup smiled at that and rubbed Toothless' head. "They really seemed to love it," he chuckled and watched as the Night Fury tried to get into the basket together with Cloudjumper and Skullcrusher.

Mala slowly walked up to the Night Fury as he was busy – she ran her hand across the saddle and watched the dragon with interest. He seemed to have a much bigger personality than certain dragons she had met – much like the Great Protector.

Hiccup smiled a bit at that. He looked at his father for a moment and then back at the Queen. "We didn't force him to carry us," he said, and Mala looked at him. "I know it might be confusing – seeing as there are so many out in the world like the hunters and so few of us," he sighed. "But they are our friends. They protect us, and we protect them."

Mala stayed silent as she looked back at the Night Fury. Toothless cooed and gave her a gummy smile. He rubbed his head against her hand and looked at her with puppy eyes. It made her chuckle faintly. "He most certainly seems nothing like a slave," she said and kneeled down to him. Her hands gently caressed his cheeks and the two looked into each other's eyes.

After a few moments of silence, the queen rose up again and folded her hands behind her back again. Her face fell dull again and she turned back around and kept walking. "Let's continue."

Hiccup smiled faintly and looked at his father and his mother with hope. He knew they could trust them – he knew that they were possible allies against the hunters. They just needed to gain their trust completely.

" _Wait...You fly with dragons on your back?"_

Snotlout said puzzled, holding his finger up in the air to empathize that he had the word. The slave with the scorched leg laughed weakly and she nodded. She drank some more water with Astrid's help and slowly sat up.

Meatlug immediately warbled and came over to her. The dragon laid down by her back and carefully moved closer until the woman was comfortable – she received a good scratch on her side for that.

"I am Atali," She smiled warmly at the Vikings crowded around her. "The leader of the Wingmaiden tribe."

Snotlout's cheeks immediately got flustered. He chuckled awkwardly and looked at Fishlegs who was blushing as well. She was quite gorgeous – despite her skeleton like features, and to think she was a leader too? It was quite attractive.

"Uh-eh-is it far away?" Fishlegs cooed shyly. "O-or is it-

"Fishlegs," Astrid glared at him and the Viking immediately shut his mouth. She intensified her glare at Snotlout as he was about to comment. When both were calmed down – as much as they could at least, she looked back at her. "It's alright if you don't want to talk about your island. We won't force anything out of you, but we will help you get home safely."

Atali smiled gratefully at that. "Thank you," she nodded at her and slowly rested her hand on her side. "But I need to," she said. Her smile faded. She looked across the dragon riders and the few strangers that were in the cave as well. "Because I need _your_ help."

"My people were raided – I am the only one left on the other side of the bars," Atali said with a small sigh. She looked down ashamed. "I have failed my people, but I was given a second chance and I don't intend on wasting it."

Astrid gently rested her hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "We'll help you get them back, but you're in no shape to fight together with us."

"But we can't wait," Atali said and shook her head faintly. "My people...they're dying."

"And we understand that," Astrid said with a sad smile. "But it won't do you any good if your people are without a leader at the very end, now would it?"

Atali sighed and looked down at her lap. "I guess you're right..." she whispered and stared into the fires in hope that it would give her any ideas.

"These...dragons," Gobber started. He cleared his throat. "Could they be of help?"

Atali's eyes slowly lit up. "Oh, how could I forget," she said and slowly tried to get up, but forgot that she was injured and right away fell back down against the Gronckle. Astrid helped keep her in a sitting position.

"Millenniums ago, the Razorwhips were almost driven to extinction due to the male dragons preying on them," Atali explained and looked at the old Blacksmith. "Freya came and gave us a mission – a mission that we have lived for ever since," she smiled faintly. "To protect the dragons, by becoming the mothers to the hatchlings. In return, they give us protection."

"Sounds much like how it is on Berk," Fishlegs smiled brightly.

"Except for the fact that _they_ ride on _humans_ and _we_ ride on _dragons_ ," Snotlout pointed out. "What is up with that?"

Atali laughed. "It is easier to show you, rather than explain it," she said and looked to Astrid. "We need to go back to my island and find the Razorwhips. They will be able to help us rescue my people."

Astrid nodded at that. "Alright, but we can't leave them behind," she said and looked at the other prisoners. "And if Ruffnut and Tuffnut comes back, someone needs to stay behind."

"How about we go?" Snotlout said and puffed out his chest proudly.

"Are you sure you can handle that?" Atali giggled faintly.

Snotlout hummed. "Of course we can. We've been training dragons for years!"

"Don't forget that they are hatchlings, lad," Gobber said and grunted slightly as he got up on his feet. He fixed his pants. "I'll go with ye."

Astrid nodded at that. "Fishlegs, you should go with them," she said and looked at the chubby teen who was almost out of his mind just thinking about the new specie. "Viggo and I will stay behind in case the twins return – but before you can leave we still need to figure out what to do with them," she said and gestured to the two prisoners who were left.

Snotlout groaned at that. "Are you _serious_? Do we _have_ to ride them back?"

Astrid smirked faintly. "Mhm. Even if it means to the end of the world and back."

Snotlout groaned even louder and slumped down beside one of the Vikings. He poked the unconscious man and nudged him gently in hope that he would wake up and give them answers. After all, he wanted to go ahead and get the dragons to seem like a hero for the tribe leader.

Astrid looked up as Stormfly moved away from the cave opening to let Viggo in – who had been scouting around for any guards that could threaten their safe zone. "Anything?"

Viggo shook his head faintly. "A dragon rider was flying over the forest further south of the island, but they have no clue about our presence."

"That's good," Astrid nodded and helped Atali lay down again. She moved over to her leg and gently started to clean the wounds to avoid any infection. "We'll be seeking aid from her island, but you and I will stay behind and keep an eye open for the twins."

Viggo eyed her faintly. He sensed it in the tone of her voice – the one that seemed to be specifically used in his presence. The way that her expressions fell dull and serious told him right away that she was still suspicious – and that she wanted nothing more but to let anyone else stay behind with him.

"I see," Viggo nodded and gently petted Stormfly's chin – the dragon didn't share the same feelings at all. "Give me a word when you'll leave. I'll keep guarding the area."

Astrid nodded and without another word, the Viking went back outside and the Nadder's wing fell back down to cover. All she could pray for was that Hiccup and his parents had as much of luck as they had with Throk's tribe.


	17. Chapter 17

"How is it, that a _dragon rider_ , pardon me, several _dragon riders_ , risked their lives to safe people that they don't know?"

Mala's voice asked a bit harshly as she walked up the steps to her throne. It was carved out from a massive boulder and despite the rich vibes she gave off it wasn't unsoiled hence the moss and the dirt. The throne was placed in the plaza which seemed to be the only place relevant to compare to the Great Hall on Berk. Due to the fact that it was so open – and that everyone in the village could see them, Hiccup knew with no doubt that they used it as their court.

"Two Berkians were captured and our mission was to rescue them," Stoick said calmly, his hands resting firmly behind his back. Hiccup stood on his right and Valka by his left – the dragons were happily snacking on the fruit in the background oblivious to the potentially dangerous meeting. "When we entered the prison, we realized it was too big and well-guarded for a short in and out mission – so we rescued those we could in hope to eventually find them."

Hiccup eyed his father slightly. They both knew that wasn't at all why they went inside – at least not most of it, but he understood that he didn't want to give it away. Mala seemed like a clever woman after all.

"Is that all?" Mala asked as she slowly sat down. She crossed her legs and leaned her cheek against her fist, eyeing the three carefully. Stoick nodded. "Then why would you be bothered to travel all the way here to give them back to us when you could have stayed behind and rescued more people?"

Stoick straightened up a bit more. "While it is clear that we did it for a certain purpose, it is not a purpose meant to threaten your people. We merely want to ask for your help in return – there are still more people trapped-

"And how do you know there are more of _our_ people, Stoick?" Mala asked, harshly spitting his name. The chief slowly looked at Throk who was standing beside his queen. Without a word needed to be said, she understood. "Very well," she eyed her right hand for a moment. Her eyes soon met Hiccup's for a split moment. "And you are certain that _all_ of the prisoners are, as you call them – _slaves_?"

Stoick shook his head. "We can't tell for sure, but by the way that the guards are treating them, it would be our guess," he said and thought for a moment. "Our only option in rescuing them would be to collect intel about the tribe that controls the prison."

Mala nodded slowly at that. She bit her lip faintly in thoughts. Her eyes soon fell on the dragons again and she sat up. "How is it that we have never come across any other dragon riders aside from the dragon hunters?"

"We live in the Archipelago, a day away from here by dragon," Stoick explained carefully. "This is our first time leaving the islands to explore this part of the world."

"Would make sense," Mala nodded slightly. "Does that mean the dragon hunters are located in the Archipelago as well?"

Stoick shook his head again. "We have explored the islands and rescued dragons – there has been no sign of the hunters anywhere which is why they propose a threat for our home as well," he explained and looked up at her determined. "What we ask for are more allies in hope to defeat them."

Mala eyed him carefully. She looked over the three and then up at Throk. It would make sense for her to give in – let them create the peace treaty between their tribes, since her right hand trusted them, but she still had their doubts.

"We understand that it can be hard to trust us – especially after what the hunters did to your tribe," Hiccup said and looked up at her with the same determined eyes as his father. "We have faced enemies like them and we know that a tribe alone is not enough to take them down. This isn't just to benefit us, but to benefit you _and_ the dragons."

Mala's glare suddenly hardened. She slowly stood up. "How will starting a war _benefit_ us?"

Hiccup sighed and looked up at his father for a moment. "Queen Mala," he said carefully. Stoick nodded at him. "The war was already started when they first attacked and took your people."

Mala fell silent. She eyed the two and soon looked at Valka who had stayed silent during the whole conversation. She soon leaned back and rested her hands in her lap. "What do you think?"

Valka looked up at her a bit surprised, uncertain if the chief was referring to her. She looked at Stoick who shared the same look, but they both calmed, and she nodded. "I believe that my son is right," she said calmly and the two shared a small smile. "There is no doubt that war brings chaos and death, but if we don't form our defenses _together_ , the hunters will take the tribes down one by one."

A silence filled the air aside from the small mumbles around the audience.

"Five years ago," Valka started with a small smile. "I used to protect a sanctuary of dragons from dragon hunters. They were people who hunted for nothing but their own pride."

"I thought you said you hadn't come across the dragon hunters before," Mala said carefully, her eyes narrowing.

"It's a long story," Hiccup chuckled nervously. "The only difference between those two tribes were that the ones we faced weren't _riding_ dragons. They were capturing them."

Valka nodded at that. "There was a man – Drago Bludvist," she hissed his name faintly. "He had taken control of an alpha – the dragons he captured were used for a dragon army. The only reason we were able to defeat them with the few people we were..." she looked over at Hiccup for a small moment. "It was a miracle," she said and shook her head with a sigh.

Stoick slowly rested his hand on his wife's shoulder. Mala's eyes fell on him. "The casualties were big. We've seen what they are capable of, and if these men are _riding_ their dragons and _controlling_ every single one of them, we're facing a much bigger threat than that madman ever was."

Mala straightened up more. She looked at Throk and the two shared a quiet moment. "We have heard what you wanted to tell us," she soon said and slowly stood up. Her eyes scanned the people and almost instantly, Stoick reached for the axe on his back. The vibes weren't good.

Hiccup looked over at Toothless helplessly only to see that the dragon was getting fed another fruit – his pupils rounder than ever. The dragon was clearly not with them anymore, which only meant one thing. They were alone-

"We'll have to think over it," Mala soon said and rested her hands behind her back. "You do, after all, ask for – perhaps, more than we can offer."

Stoick slowly moved his hand away from the handle. He looked at the chief.

"Take them to the guest house," Mala said to some of the villagers. "We'll discuss this further first thing in the morning."

Hiccup sighed relieved at that and looked up at the chief as well. "And our dragons?"

Mala stayed silent for a moment. "They will stay where they are," she said and watched as two guards went up to them and took their weapons forcefully – the chief didn't exactly want to give them up that easily.

Stoick grunted faintly at them but backed down as Valka scolded him for the lack of respect he was giving. She didn't want him to start a war with the Queen after all. "Alright," he muttered and looked at the chief one final time before the three were led towards the house.

Hiccup sighed and looked at Toothless for a split moment. He would have expected at least a single reaction from him. "See you tomorrow, buddy-" he trailed off and looked up as a big shadow covered the sun from their view.

A huge boulder-class dragon flew over their heads and landed in the plaza where they had seconds before discussed the situation with the chief. It landed gracefully despite its size, leaving nothing but a loud sound as it's paws and its weight contacted the stones.

"The Great Protector..." Mala whispered completely puzzled. She ran down the steps – Throk following with a few more problems, until she was standing by its head. Her hands gently rested on its scales. "What's the matter?"

The dragon roared and the Night Fury before him almost right away snapped out of his trance. In response, Toothless roared and immediately looked around from his rider. Once Hiccup was in sight, he roared and Cloudjumper and Skullcrusher didn't hesitate to follow him as he ran to defend his rider.

"Toothless!" Hiccup said and immediately tried to stop him from knocking away the two villagers. He pushed his head helplessly away. "It's alright! We're alright!" He said hurriedly and kept trying to hold the Night Fury away. The two villagers carefully moved away from them while glancing over to their chief for commands.

Toothless snarled at them, but slowly relaxed. He wrapped his tail and body carefully around his rider and scanned the scene before him.

The Great Protector slowly moved away from the chief and the villagers moved aside as the dragon made its way towards the alpha. She slowly bowed down before the Night Fury and in return, Toothless lifted his head proudly.

Mala's eyes widened slightly in realization. She slowly walked up to the Vikings, making sure to keep her distance from the alpha who clearly felt threatened by her presence. "He...There's no way."

Hiccup's hand stroked Toothless' head gently. He smiled faintly and looked at the Queen. "He's the alpha of the Archipelago. It might seem a bit...surreal because of his size," he chuckled, but immediately regretted it as Toothless slapped the back of his head with his tail. The boy muttered slightly to himself and pushed the dragon away playfully.

Toothless warbled back at him and stood up proudly to show that he wasn't small at all – despite the three bigger dragons around him showing differently.

"He's not going to hurt you," Hiccup said and looked back at the chief. "Or the Eruptodon."

Mala looked at him a bit unsure. She rested her hand on the scales of the protector. Her worry soon washed away as Toothless warbled again and she was back to her old self. The dragon rubbed against her lovingly.

As her eyes went back and forth form the dragons and Hiccup, she slowly started to realize who was standing before her. She had heard the tales from the traders – about a boy who stopped the great war and the man who rode and befriended an alpha. And now...

She slowly collected herself and straightened up. Her eyes met Hiccup's determined. She finally realized they had a chance – Hiccup realized earlier that she thought they were coming with an impossible request.

"We...We'll agree," Mala said, but it barely came out as a whisper. She folded her hands behind her back again and all fear washed from her eyes.

"We'll become your allies in the fight against the dragon hunters."

* * *

"I can't believe we _had_ to save those Thor forsaken boot kissers," Snotlout groaned and threw his hands up in the air in defeat. For the last hour he had been trying to polish his boot with the ocean water below, but to no success. "When I said _Kiss my boot_ , I didn't _literally mean_ kiss my boot! How stupid can they be?"

"Well, you did really say it with a non-sarcastic tone," Fishlegs laughed faintly and kept supporting Atali in his arms. They had decided it would be the best to bring her with them to her island. It would be more efficient for their small travel as well as it would benefit Viggo and Astrid's search for the twins.

"Shut up, Fishlegs," Snotlout muttered and looked away with crossed arms.

"The lad is right," Gobber snorted. "Though I wished they hadn't. Wasn' a pretty sight..." He shuddered. "Especially not when they took off your boots and licked-

"Okay, enough!" Snotlout groaned and glared at the elder. "I don't want to relive the scene."

Atali laughed faintly, but soon coughed and rested her hand on her chest. She leaned against Fishlegs more. "D-despite the situation...you somehow seem to take everything less serious."

Fishlegs grimaced slightly but held her carefully. "I guess that is one of our group's many flaws. But it does help keep our minds at ease," he smiled down at her. "Sometimes," he laughed.

"Especially when the twins drill a hole in your skull," Snotlout muttered. "You sort of learn to handle it. Can't say I miss them too much right now though. If they were here, they would drill a hole in your head as well."

Atali laughed awkwardly at that. "N-now that doesn't sound very pleasing."

"Trust me," Snotlout muttered and crossed his arms. "It's not."

Silence fell on the group and for minutes no one said anything until Snotlout couldn't bare the slightly tense and awkward silence and whined out; "Are we there yet?"

"I-I thought you wanted to avoid returning," Atali chuckled faintly. She slowly sat up with Fishlegs' help and looked around. Her eyes narrowed and took time to adjust to the blinding horizon. Soon enough, a smile spread across her lips. "I thought I had to die before I got to see my home again..."

Out on the horizon, a peak of a lonely island was growing bigger and bigger and the silhouette of it became clearer. The island was massive, but nothing compared to the Isle of Berk. For the most part, it consisted of mountain peaks which the tribe clearly used for their buildings, but there were also areas below that was perfect for vegetation and a forest suitable to provide resources.

Atali's smile faded and the hope in her eyes disappeared as well. The buildings were burnt down to ashes and roofs had been ripped off clean from either dragon claws or catapults. It was clear to them all that the area had once been a battlefield.

"I'm sorry Atali," Fishlegs sighed and looked over the island as their dragons halted on command. He brought out his spyglass to check for what his eyes alone had seemed to confirm. "I don't see any razorwhips anywhere. No sign of other species either."

"It can't be," Atali shook her head weakly and pulled at his shirt. "Please," she said and looked up in his eyes. Her own were filled with tears, but the wingmaiden was clearly fighting to keep them from falling. "Take us down."

Fishlegs sighed and looked at Snotlout and Gobber.

"Wouldn't hurt to see," Gobber called out and flew closer to them. "I know a battlefield when I see one and this seems to be long forgotten."

Snotlout sighed and looked over the island. "Let's just hope they leave with what they came for," he said and patted Hookfang's side. The dragon immediately dove down and flapped his wings towards the island and the two started to scout together with Gobber.

"I don't understand," Fishlegs shook his head slightly and looked at Atali. "If they raided you for the dragons, why would they take you as well? To avoid counter attacks?"

"I-I would assume so," Atali nodded slightly, her eyes glued to the sight before them. Meatlug whimpered. "But if t-they are clever, they most definitely know that we would be nothing without them. A counter attack would take far too long and far too many resources that we don't have."

Fishlegs sighed and looked forward again. "There's just so much that doesn't make any sense...If they got the razorwhips, who knows? Maybe they got the Eruptodon as well."

"It's a possibility we'll have to consider," Atali sighed and slowly sat up again as Snotlout returned alone from the small scout. Hookfang seemed a little spooked and depressed, but Snotlout on the other hand seemed a bit urgent to get their attention. They both tensed up for the worst.

"Its easier to show than to explain," Snotlout said hurried and motioned with his head for them to follow. Then with a swift move, Hookfang shifted their direction back to the island with Meatlug hot on his tail.

The Monstrous Nightmare led them down towards a cave that was hidden from sight underneath the village. The moment the dragons got close, they started to act differently and slowed down. Both seemed hesitant to go down there, and Fishlegs and Atali soon came to realize why.

The cave was filled with dry blood splatters and claw marks all around the cave. A fight had clearly taken place inside and what hurt them the most was the sight before them;

 _The sight of razorwhips corpses packed inside the cave._

Atali's heart broke into pieces at the sight. She cried out in pain, holding her chest as she heaved and sobbed in anger and despair. Weakly, she pushed herself out of Fishlegs' arms and fell to her knees. The first thing she felt wasn't the hot and painful impact on her knees, but the cold and dry blood beneath them.

 _They were all dead_.

The three dragons – the only dragons that were alive, cooed in sorrow and bowed their heads for the fallen dragons. The sight was horrendous for them as well. Never had they seen such big blood baths – not even through the war between the dragons and the Vikings.

Snotlout sighed and slowly rested his helmet against his chest. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, his teeth biting firmly at his bottom lip. His mind still couldn't process it from the first time he saw it, and he didn't know what was worse; seeing the brutally murdered corpses or hearing the chief cry her heart out in sorrow for losing everything she had protected.

A part of him was relieved though – that he was here instead than Hiccup. He knew that out of the two of them, at least he had the stomach and the mind to handle it. If Hiccup was there with him... He wouldn't be the same. He would lose all his sense and reason to get the revenge he wanted, and Snotlout knew this.

But that didn't mean that it didn't leave a scar in Snotlout's mind and heart. The Viking slowly walked up to Atali and kneeled down beside her. He put on his helmet again and held her gently by her shoulders to assure her that they were there for her – that they were there to support her for whatever she decided they had to do. And when the words came out of her quivering lips, Snotlout wasn't surprised. It was no different than what he imagined his cousin would say;

" _They are going to pay for what they have done."_

* * *

"You know, for being a woman you are quite feisty."

Astrid snapped her head back at Viggo as the two wandered the forest together. They were scouting the area to make sure that the tribe occupying the island hadn't figured out their whereabouts, but the trip wasn't made any easier with the chatting Viking behind her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Astrid glared faintly at him and stopped in her tracks to cross his arms at him. She swore he was no different from Snotlout – equally arrogant and disrespectful.

Viggo rose his hands slightly and chuckled. "I didn't mean it that way. I merely meant that it is a rare sight to see women this...tempered."

Astrid's glare hardened and even Stormfly didn't seem pleased. "How is that any better?" She muttered slightly and kept walking, her steps becoming heavier from anger.

"Well, most women tend to stay home and do nothing but watch over the children and please the male of the house," Viggo shrugged his shoulders slightly. "And when a fight erupts, they run the other way. You don't seem like that, though."

Astrid balled her fists. "We do it differently back at Berk."

"How come?" Viggo hummed interested. "It didn't seem like any different than-

"We have softened over the years," Astrid admitted. "But if you even as much as touch one of them," she hissed and took out her axe from the strap on her back. In a swift move, she swung it and pointed it at his neck. "If you even as much as _speak_ of them the way you do now," she hissed again and the male who now had his hands up backed away against a tree. She pressed it harder against his throat. "We won't hesitate to take you down."

Viggo gulped slightly. "Understood. My-my deepest apologies."

Astrid grunted and pressed it hard against his throat for a split second. Then she pulled back and put it back on her back. "Now make yourself useful and stay quiet," she muttered and kept walking with Stormfly. "Otherwise I'll scout on Stormfly."

"We could do that-

" _Alone_ ," Astrid said sternly as if it wasn't already clear enough. Viggo nodded awkwardly and folded his hands behind his back again. He followed the shield maiden without hesitation, though he made sure to keep a small distance between them to avoid getting slashed at by the now tensed up Nadder.

After a few minutes of silence, Viggo's lips parted again. "How about the chief's son?"

Astrid perked up at that. She looked over her shoulder for a short moment. "What about him?"

Viggo smiled slightly. "He seems to be madly in love with you. Even after all the years that have passed. Remember that time in the Great Hall after the meeting?" he hummed faintly. "Where you _rudely_ left us?"

Astrid's glare hardened again, but this time she kept looking forward. Stormfly squawked. "I don't see why I should have treated the situation any differently."

"Perhaps not," Viggo nodded slowly. "But I do want to inform you that it left a small impact on your dear _Hiccup_. He talked a lot about you – about what a great shield maiden you are, in fact the best there is," he laughed.

Astrid slowly relaxed a bit at that and her glare softened and instead became puzzled. Had Hiccup spoken of her to him about that? It didn't seem realistic, but then again Hiccup always came with surprises. Most importantly...Has he said those exact words?

"He of course warned me not to hit on you," Viggo laughed. "Not because of what he would do, but more of what _you_ would do. The details weren't exactly pretty."

"I wouldn't be either," Astrid warned and rested her hand on Stormfly's side to calm her down. She kept walking in silence until Viggo broke it yet again.

"What are your thoughts of him? Do you feel the same?" Viggo asked suspiciously. "I know women – being without love for so many years can make them do all kinds of stuff-

"I'm not _those_ women," Astrid hissed and turned to him. "I would never cheat on him on my life."

Viggo shrugged his shoulders faintly. "A little birdy told me differently," he whistled.

Astrid tensed up again. " _What_?"

Viggo smiled smugly. "Five years passed, and you finally came to realize that your love would never return," he said as he slowly approached her, his hands still on his back. "So, you fell in love anew, longing for the same attention. A few more weeks and who knows whose child would have grown inside there?" he motioned to her stomach for a moment.

Astrid's eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows furrowed in anger, but she collected herself. She slowly took her axe out. "Who told you this?"

Viggo hummed faintly and walked past her without answering. "Well? Shall we continue?" he turned to her for a moment before continuing to walk ahead. Stormfly and Astrid looked at each other before the two reluctantly followed him.

As they did, Astrid couldn't help but keep wondering; did Hiccup know about her and Eret? It had become clear in the village that the two were starting to build up something between one another – even a blind Viking would know, but Hiccup hadn't been there for as long as their relationship had.

Though, it did explain a few things; as to why Hiccup suddenly became so snappy when she mentioned the other male or was around him; how he became protective for her. It was difficult for her to understand and to find out; it was Hiccup. The man who thought of others before himself; the man who could hide his pain for others happiness. Astrid didn't doubt for a moment that it was a possibility, but what bugged her even more was how Hiccup and Viggo had built a bond that quickly.

The two were nothing alike; Hiccup disliked Snotlout and the man was a split image of him in another body. Was it the anger towards Eret that made them closer allies or was it something else? Then again, she didn't know Viggo as much as Hiccup did. The two had spent two months together on a ship recovering. Anything could have happened.

Her eyes soon lit up. Snotlout had been together with them for the most part – as far as she could remember him telling the council numerous of times in the meetings. Spitelout had also been there and considering the two were quite alike and at the same time had a bond with the Haddock clan, she would most likely get more answers out of the two than from Hiccup and Viggo combined.

Viggo slowly stopped as they walked out to a clear area. They had arrived at the beach, but what unsettled them both was the lonely ship that was anchored not too far away from land.

"What is it doing out there alone?" Viggo muttered faintly and tried to get a look at the crest. "I thought the tribe had a dock for ships."

"They do..." Astrid murmured faintly as she took out the spyglass from Stormfly's saddlebag. She closed her left and searched with the right. "Wait...that's Johann's ship," She whispered and lowered the spyglass.

"You mean the trader?" Viggo asked, but the Viking was already on the back of her dragon and holding a hand to him. He hoisted himself up behind her and the two set off to the ship.

"If he's here, he might know the tribe," Astrid said hopefully and kicked Stormfly's side. The Nadder squawked and flew faster. "He could tell us everything we need to know about them!"

Viggo nodded absently. He held onto the saddle as the two hoovered over the ship. It didn't take long before they landed, and the trader scrambled up on deck overwhelmed by the surprise.

"Miss Hofferson!" Trader Johann gasped. "So, this is where you flew off to!" He laughed faintly and watched them land. He eyed the passenger for a moment and the man return the eye-contact. Johann looked back at her as she jumped down.

"How did you get here so fast?" Astrid asked confused. "Weren't you just at Berk?"

Stormfly's head raised up quickly, and her eyes turned from slits to round pupils. Her head twitched, and her eyes scanned the boat quickly, but neither of them noticed as they were deep in their conversation.

"I took an early leave since my best customers wandered off! And I know a few paths here and there," Trader Johann laughed proudly. "The stream is wonderful – oh it brings back memory of when I-

"Mommy!" A cry came from below deck.

Astrid immediately tensed up at that. She finally realized her dragon's distress and reached for the axe on her back.

Trader Johann scrambled backwards nervously and knocked over a barrel. "Oh, what was that?" He laughed nervously. "Did the wind learn how to talk?"

"Quiet!" Astrid hissed at him and slowly unhooked her axe. She was about to hold it in front of her, when someone tore it out of her arms and knocked the air out of her lungs from behind. The Viking stumbled down at Johann's feet. When she finally caught herself, she was pushed down roughly by a heel that dug into her spine.

Viggo sighed and gripped the axe in his hands. "Why can't you Berkians mind your own business?" He muttered unsatisfied, rolling the weapon back and forth from palm to palm.

Astrid roared in anger and looked over at Stormfly as she knocked the man off her. Immediately, she got herself up on her feet and charged at Viggo. "You traitor!" She yelled and knocked him to the ground when he attempted to get up. Despite his resists, she managed to push him down and hold him there. "Johann get me some rope!" She yelled urgently and looked over her shoulder.

Johann put a blowgun to his lips and a dart flew out of it almost straight away. Astrid's eyes widened as it flew past her and when she turned her head around, she could see the dart had hit between Stormfly's scales.

Stormfly squawked and whimpered as her legs got shaky. She slowly fell down on the wooden planks with a thump and looked at Astrid weakly.

Astrid's eyes widened. "Stormfly!" She instantly let go of Viggo by instinct and ran to her side. She ripped the dart out and looked at it, anger washing over her. "You..." she whispered and looked over at Johann.

Viggo grinned faintly as he stood up. He held the axe at her head and looked over at Johann for a faint moment. "Do you have him with you?"

Trader Johann rubbed his hands together and nodded eagerly. He disappeared below the docks for a short moment and when he returned back upstairs, he had brought a bag with him that was trashing and screaming.

Astrid's eyes widened. She would recognize that scream anywhere.

"Aiden!" She cried out and tried to get to him, but Viggo knocked the handle of the axe against her stomach. She groaned in pain and fell back against the unconscious Deadly Nadder, clutching her middle. Her eyes glared daggers at the two traitors.

Viggo smiled smugly and looked over at Johann. "I hope you've got room for a dragon rider and a dragon below deck," he hummed and watched Johann throw the bag at Astrid who caught it helplessly and undid the tie.

 _"We've got a change of plans."_


	18. Chapter 18

"Hiccup will be dumbfounded when he hears this!" Tuffnut exclaimed happily as he walked through the woods with his sister. The twin giggled and kicked a pebble away.

"It would be amazing to see him more shocked than those guards," Ruffnut giggled.

"Then again, he is sort of stoic...like the chief!"

"I guess that confirms our hypothesis of their heritage...Who would have thought he really was the chief's son?" Ruffnut cooed puzzled. She followed her brother through the forest, her eyes scanning the area for anything familiar. "But brother...where was the cave?" she asked and went in a circle for a moment.

"Hm..." Tuffnut stopped up and scratched his chin. He walked around in a circle as well as he started to think. "Let's see...I mean, the dragons are there right? Maybe our call will help?" he looked at her and they both smirked. They cupped their hands around their lips and called out right away for their dragons. After said motion, and after nothing came to their rescue, they gave up and looked at each other again.

"Great, what now?" Ruffnut groaned and threw her hands up in the air. "I knew Hiccup would take them from us one day! They probably left us stranded here!"

Tuffnut rubbed his chin slightly. "Hm...let's go that way," he said and pointed in a wild direction. His twin nodded and followed him right away. "Maybe we can find a dragon and work our magic woo-doo on them," he snickered.

Ruffnut rubbed her palms excitedly at that. After being locked up for the past few days she wouldn't mind some action. "I would love to see some burning-oh! Maybe they will burn your clothes off like back in-

"We promised each other not to mention that again!" Tuffnut whimpered at his sister.

Ruffnut grimaced. "I forgot about that..." she looked at her brother sympathetically and laid her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry little brother, but at least I didn't say tears-

"Buahh!" Tuffnut wept right away and hid his face in his hands. Hot, salty drops of tears went through the cracks between his fingers and onto the ground below.

Ruffnut whined at that and patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry! I forgot all about it as well!" she rubbed his back and looked around for a moment. She picked up a rock and a stick and tried her best to make something out of it. After a few seconds of Tuffnut's endless crying, she held it to him. "Here! Meet-uh...Sven!"

Tuffnut sniffed and wiped his eyes. He slowly looked up and took the stone with small hands out of hers. He sniffled and smiled to himself. "Thank you...but not Sven. Sven's a horrible name-and its already taken," he hummed and held it close. "I shall call you Svendsen!"

Ruffnut tilted her head. "Isn't that taken too-

"Svendsensen!" Tuffnut cleared it out.

"But that's our uncle-

"Fine!" Tuffnut groaned and held it closer. "Mordis," he muttered, glared faintly at his sister and kept walking, his feet stomping the ground to mirror his mood.

Ruffnut sighed and rolled her eyes before she followed him again. "How should we tell them though?" She looked at her brother. "About Viggo?"

Tuffnut scratched his cheek. "Knowing Hiccup, he probably wouldn't believe us," he murmured and threw his arms out in defeat.

"Maybe we can tell Astrid? She didn't seem too happy about him," Ruffnut cooed.

"Nah, that wouldn't be good...Eret would get mad at us then and you know what happened last time he was mad..." Tuffnut shuddered at the memory. Ruffnut did as well and hugged herself while he hugged Mordis.

"I still feel as scarred as his chest..." Ruffnut whispered slightly and shook her head. "Plan B, we tell Snotlout!"

Tuffnut shook his head. "Snotlout...do I even have to?"

Ruffnut laughed faintly. "Well...I guess you're right. Why don't we tell them all? They really seem to love our stories! I mean, it was pretty badass how we collected the information, got ourselves free and left like nothing happened," she shrugged.

Tuffnut rubbed his chest. "Hm...What do you say?" He looked at Mordis determined. He soon laughed. "That's like it, M!" He turned to Ruffnut. "He says we should tell Gobber-

"No way!" Ruffnut groaned. "No one would believe Gobber more than us!"

"Hm...I guess so..." Tuffnut murmured and looked around as they walked. The twins soon looked up right away as they heard a loud yell and a dragon squawk. "That sounded like-

"Stormfly," Ruffnut exclaimed happily and looked around. She started to run towards the sound. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see you again-" She trailed off as the trees didn't cover her anymore and she was met with a big beach with waves splashing up towards her. Her eyes soon landed on the ship in front of them and the fight that was going on.

"Is that...trader Johann?" Tuffnut asked confused. "Why are they fighting?" He laughed. "Why am I even asking-she's wanted to strangle that man since he first docked in front of her!"

"Brother...I don't think this is the time to joke..." Ruffnut shook her head faintly as she saw a small person in a bag get thrown up on deck. Viggo was there as well and securing them. It didn't take long before the ship started to sail.

Tuffnut's eyes widened as he realized the situation. He shared a glance with his sister.

" _We should find Hiccup."_

"But where do we find a one-legged Viking that runs faster than Snotlout and Fishlegs combined?" Ruffnut groaned as she sprinted after her brother. The two had set off right away, in whatever direction they hadn't searched earlier, in hope to find the cave sooner or later. Every tenth step, the two stopped and called for their Zippleback, but to no avail.

Tuffnut slowed down at that and hunched over. He grabbed his knees and panted. "We-we...we'll...I don't know!" He threw his arms up in exhaustion and irritation.

Ruffnut mirrored his stance and panted her lungs out as she tried to think of something. She smacked herself across her head several times. "Think, think, think. Be like Fishlegs!" She murmured. A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she realized what she had said.

Tuffnut didn't notice and soon stood up straight again. He pulled Mordis out of his shirt and looked at him. "Okay little rock with tiny wooden hands," he said and pointed at it. "What direction shall we take to find Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the second-

"Third," Ruffnut corrected him between her panting.

"Third," Tuffnut nodded and glared intensely at the rock as if interrogating a vulnerable soul. His eyes soon trailed towards the right as the stick fell off and it was left with a poor left arm. "Aha!" He grinned and immediately started to run left again.

"Hey-wait up!" Ruffnut whined and ran after him, struggling to keep herself up on her wobbling feet. It was still unusual, even for them, to be so active again with all the running and climbing and what not.

"Since Astrid was there, he shouldn't be too far away right?" Tuffnut asked as he kept running through the woods and looking around. A feeling in his chest made him push away his Loki-self and see the bigger picture – Astrid was in danger and Hiccup would drag them to their grave if he found out they hadn't told him sooner.

"I guess," Ruffnut nodded faintly between her wobbling and slurring words. "But why wouldn't the other's be with them? Maybe they went out scouting in different areas?"

"Clever, Ruffnut," Tuffnut grinned and stopped. He cupped his hands around his lips and called for the Zippleback again. Ruffnut followed him shortly and took the wait as an opportunity to catch her breath.

"W-which would also mean we should bump into them soon, right?" Ruffnut groaned faintly and leaned against the tree. "All this running has made me so hungry!"

"Me too, sis," Tuffnut said and held his belly as he looked around helplessly. "Me too-

Suddenly a large shadow loomed over them and the twins snapped their heads up to the sky between the trees. It didn't take long before it returned, but instead of flying off it stopped down between the trees and hovered above them.

"Barf!" Ruffnut exclaimed happily and held her hands up to the dragon.

"Belch!" Tuffnut smiled brightly and ran to him once he had landed. He hugged Belch's head and Ruffnut did the same with Barf's head. "I knew you wouldn't leave us alone in the dirt forever!"

The dragon purred softly and licked their heads. Then it nudged them eagerly up in their saddles and didn't even give them enough time to hold on before they jumped up and flew out of the cover of the forest.

"Man it feels good to be free..." Tuffnut hummed happily and leaned back in his saddle with his arms behind his head. He closed his eyes.

Ruffnut smacked him across his head and the twin yelped. "Did you forget already?" She groaned and rolled her eyes. "We need to find Hiccup. Astrid's in trouble!"

"Oh, right," Tuffnut murmured faintly and grabbed onto the saddle again.

They let Barf and Belch lead them back towards the cave, and when they returned there they were both surprised to find it abandoned. There was still equipment, blankets and a bit of food left, that Tuffnut didn't hesitate to have a bite off, and the bonfire was still sparking faintly.

"Why would they leave all this unguarded?" Ruffnut murmured faintly. "That's not how I remember Hiccup to be. Has it been years since we last came here? I mean, Astrid did look a bit different."

"Who knows, sis?" Tuffnut asked with his cheeks stuffed with cold chicken. "Maybe Hiccup isn't so Hiccup as we remember he was?" He shrugged.

"Yeah, but...Stoick and Valka haven't really changed," Ruffnut shrugged her shoulders faintly and looked around for a clue or a sign. Or anything that could give them a hint of their whereabouts. "At least not Stoick."

"True," Tuffnut snorted. "He still snores so loud all of Berk can hear him. Do you think they were taken because of that?" he tilted his head.

"By Trader Johann?" Ruffnut raised an eyebrow before she – not being able to not, rolled her eyes again and kept looking around. "I don't think he'll be very happy about it – I know I'm not. Who knows what he wants to do with Astrid?" She murmured faintly.

"Hm..." Tuffnut threw the bone away and wrapped a fur blanket around his shoulders. Barf and Belch looked after the bone and then tried to get it at the same time but smacked their heads in each other. "Maybe he wanted to give them a ride back to Berk! Viggo could have...could have..."

"Astrid isn't typically the one who willingly travels in a net," Ruffnut groaned and sat down by the dead fire. She poked around in it with a stick that laid beside it.

"Right..." Tuffnut nodded and sat down across from her. He looked into the fire and stayed silent for a while, letting everything sink in yet again. He sighed and pulled the blanket more around himself. "So...we'll just wait here then?"

"Wait until someone comes back?" Ruffnut sighed as well and pulled her legs up. She watched the fire quietly.

"If they do," Tuffnut mumbled and closed his eyes with another sigh. For once in a long time, it felt as if they were completely alone in the all too big world. And they both knew one thing – it didn't feel as they expected it to.

As if Thor – or Odin in that case, had heard their silent prayers for life, a dragon landed outside the cave. Barf and Belch growled for a small moment, but calmed and straightened up. They moved aside as an all too familiar rider walked inside with his dragon.

"Eret..." Ruffnut whispered. She cooed confused and slowly got up on her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"More importantly, how in Loki's name did you get out of Berk's security?" Tuffnut laughed and went up to him right away, all worries washed aside. Ruffnut seemed to be the only one out of them that noticed Eret's stressing figure. He clearly had arrived in a hurry.

"I was let free earlier," Eret shook his head faintly. "We need to find Hiccup. Where is he?"

The two twins laughed nervously.

"Funny thing is that...we were searching for him too," Ruffnut grimaced.

"What?" Eret frowned and looked around for a small moment, just as he had when he stepped inside with his sword that now laid neatly in his belt. "What do you mean you're searching for him?"

"Probably not in the same way as you..." Tuffnut said a bit hesitantly. "Are you here to get revenge on him?"

"Tuffnut-

"Or are you here to get yourself a misses because this village has a lot of wonderful ladies-

"Tuffnut!" Eret shut him up right away and the two looked at him frightened. "Something happened at Berk," He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Gosh...Hiccup and Astrid will ship me off the end of the earth," he shook his head. Ruffnut looked at him worriedly.

"What exactly happened?"

"A herd of wild dragons came to Berk and we set everyone we had to take care of it. Spitelout was stressing and I, of course, was locked up, so I only heard a part of it," Eret said quickly, stressing his way through his words. "Next thing we know, Aiden vanished and we're fearing that one of the wild dragons took them when we weren't looking."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other with wide eyes. Eret sure wasn't the only one who would hear about that from Hiccup. And his parents of course.

"They are still searching around at Berk for him, but he's been gone almost the day that you left," Eret sighed. "I should have come sooner..."

"There's nothing that you could have done," Ruffnut tried to comfort him, but Eret rejected it.

"I should have done more, and I didn't. And now I have to live with that," Eret sighed and took a deep breath to get his mind set on the task. "So where is Hiccup?"

Tuffnut rubbed his neck awkwardly. "We were searching for him too. We've been locked up by this weird tribe since we came here, and we just managed to get out. Awesome story by the way," he chuckled and went serious again.

"That's not all," Ruffnut shook her head and looked at Eret. "We don't know where they are, but we saw Astrid and Viggo together on Trader Johann's ship." Eret tensed up at that.

"Viggo was alone with Astrid?" Eret barely managed to whisper. He cleared his throat and looked around yet again. He had wondered where the trader had gone off to.

Ruffnut nodded. "Yeah, and it didn't look like they were helping each other. I don't think Johann is what we thought he was..."

Eret grumbled faintly and searched around in the blankets. He grabbed a few of them and stuffed them into the saddlebag of his dragon. "Either way, Astrid alone with Viggo on the sea isn't something I'll take easy on," he said and climbed on his dragon's back. "Come on," he said and held the first blanket to its nose. "We'll track them down."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut shared a look again before they nodded, mounted their dragons, and the trio flew off to where the scent led them.

"Way to go buddy," Hiccup sighed happily and ran a hand through his hand as they had finally landed again. The two had decided to take a small flight – for the most part to take a look around the island despite Mala's protest. He had somehow managed to ensure her that they wouldn't head up to the far top of the mountain which settled the Queen, knowing that the Great Protector would be left in peace.

"You sure haven't grown tired of doing loops," The Viking laughed and scratched his head as he climbed off. The dragon crooned happily, lifted his head more and in return received a good neck scratch across his scales. "Now come on. I promised mom and dad I wouldn't be late," he smiled and ruffled his scales one final time before he pulled back and walked towards the town center where his parents were already settled down by a table and accompanying the Queen in a small feast.

Hiccup took his seat beside his mother and Toothless went in between them, demanding a small snack which Valka didn't mind giving a share of her own food. She wasn't that big of an eater after all, and neither was Hiccup – something the Night Fury was all too familiar with.

As Hiccup looked over the silenced audience watching his return, he could feel Queen Mala's eyes almost burn – if not pierce, his soul. He smiled faintly and shook his head. "We didn't go anywhere near the volcano. We saw the smoke and heard her, but that was about it."

"And how am can I be so sure of that?" Mala asked a bit cautiously. "I gave you a simple rule – to respect our way of living."

Hiccup looked at his father for a moment, a bit puzzled. "I know you dislike the fact that we ride dragons, but it's _our_ way of living. If we're going to have a chance against the dragon hunters, it will be better for us both if we-

"What he's trying to say," Stoick glared at Hiccup and the boy went quiet. He looked back at Mala with a softer pair of eyes. "Is that we won't be able to defeat the riders if we get ambushed here. I sent him out to scout for you."

Mala eyed him slightly and folded her hands in her lap. "While I do appreciate the thought, my people are very well capable of scouting our home themselves."

"Of course," Stoick nodded and looked over at Hiccup again. The boy slowly looked down at his food. They both knew he wanted to continue to talk, but his parents seemed to know where the line went. After all, he still had a lot to learn when it came to peace treaties and meeting other chieftains – something that his father was more experienced with.

Another silence fell across the table – the only noise coming from the chewing and swallowing which was rare as well. Hiccup didn't want to seem rude, so he ate quietly, resisting the urge to just sit there and poke his food around.

After what felt like forever, Queen Mala cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair. Everyone looked at her – even the dragons. "So," She began. "How do you suggest we approach the dragon hunters?" she asked the chief.

Stoick set down his fork and mead and looked over at his son for a moment. "It's still hard to say. We don't know who is leading them," he said carefully. "Until we do, there's only so much we could do. My suggestion would be to continue scouting."

"I see," Queen Mala nodded slowly. "Where do you plan on scouting first?"

"We'll head back to the island. I'm most certain that the chieftain is Einar the Bland," Stoick said and leaned back. "But his village is under the control of the dragon hunters."

Queen Mala nodded again. "And if you're lucky, the leader of the dragon hunters might show up."

"Aye," Stoick sighed, but tried not to show it. "If we're lucky."

"Very well, Stoick the Vast," Queen Mala spoke and rose from her chair. "I accept your suggestion and you may do as you please but do understand that your mission will be without our aid. No one – and I mean no one from our tribe," she said and looked at Throk. "Leaves without my permission."

Thork nodded understandingly and bowed. "Understood, my Queen."

Mala nodded at him and looked back at them. "Anything else we need to know of?"

Stoick looked at Hiccup and Valka, but their faces were as clueless as his. He looked back at her and shook his head. "No. That should be everything."

"Very well," Mala hummed and walked with Throk towards her hut. As she passed the dragons, she made sure to give them a good pet to assure her bond with them was well. Just as she pulled away from Skullcrusher's scales, a loud yell was heard.

"Hookfang!" It shrieked from the forest.

The Berkians looked up right away at that, more surprised than alerted. Mala on the other hand, immediately ordered her guards to head to the sound in fear of more dragon hunters.

"It's fine!" Hiccup assured her right away and was up on his feet in less than a second. "They're with us! I...think," he laughed nervously which earned him a look from the two chiefs. He sighed and went to Toothless who accepted him on his back and ran towards the forest before the other guards could.

When they came towards the non-stop shrieking and yelling, the guards on patrol had already captured them in nets. Snotlout was struggling heavily against the nets together with Hookfang, and Gobber was – unfortunately, stuck beneath Grump with confused guards throwing a net over hesitantly.

Hiccup slid off Toothless' back and the dragon hissed faintly. As he ran up to them, he took notice of the gronckle in the sky hoovering above. Gently, he pushed away the spears of the guards and right away was almost jumped at if it hadn't been for Mala's orders to stand down. He smiled awkwardly at them and took out his dagger to cut Snotlout and his monstrous nightmare free. "What are you doing here?" he asked hurriedly and threw the net away.

Snotlout grumbled and shook the snow off of him, but received more on top of his head as his buried dragon flipped it on his body. After glaring profusely at his dragon, he brushed himself off again and got up on his feet with a few struggles. "We were looking for you," he said and turned serious – it scared Hiccup how fast his mood turned because he knew it wasn't a good sign.

It took Hiccup a moment to understand that a Zippleback was halfway buried in the snow behind them – the scouts hadn't had time to secure them before they arrived to stop them. Two blonde Vikings peaked their head out of the snow.

"Ruff? Tuff?" Hiccup said puzzled as he went over to him. Stoick and Valka was helping poor Gobber get out before he sank into the deep snow. "How did you...?"

Tuffnut laughed. "Awesome story, by the way," he said as he got out of the snow and brushed himself off. Normally, he would have dumped the snow in his helmet on his sister, but he as well turned serious – his sister on the other hand was worried.

Fishlegs slowly landed down beside them as he realized it was safe. In his arms, he was holding Atali who was wrapped up in fur and yet deadly pale. Mala took it as a queue to step in and ordered some of the guards to help take her back to the healer's hut. Normally, she would have been hesitant, but she seemed to have suffered the same fate as her own people had, so she didn't question them. Though she would later on.

Eret who had also been buried in the snow further back had gotten himself back up on his feet and approached them. Hiccup wanted to ask him why he wasn't on Berk – he was still supposed to be locked up for another day, but he didn't.

Now that the twins were there, Hiccup expected Astrid and Viggo to land as well on the back of Stormfly, but when seconds passed and the dragon's didn't tense up because of another dragon approaching, he grew worried. "Where's Astrid?" he barely managed to whisper, his eyes widening.

Ruffnut shook her head faintly and looked at her brother. "We...we have a lot to talk about."

Hiccup shook his head. He wouldn't have it. "Where is she?" he said a bit more sternly, stepping closer to them as they obviously seemed to have the answers. The twins reacted by stumbling backwards, hands in front of them in fear. "Did she trade places with you?" he hissed, unable to hold himself.

"Son," Stoick stepped after him and grabbed him by his shoulder. It had the Viking halt in his steps, but he didn't stop looking at the two. Eret soon stepped up beside him as the twins were unable to speak – they weren't used to seeing Hiccup like this. No one was.

"Viggo," Eret said and Hiccup's eyes switched to his in disbelief. "Ruffnut and Tuffnut managed to get out in time to see Viggo and Trader Johann capturing-

"Johann?" This time it was Stoick's time to ask. When Eret nodded in conformation, Stoick's eyes slowly turned into daggers. His grip on Hiccup's shoulder tightened, but thanks to the armor, he barely felt it. The gesture brought the Viking out of his trance.

"Where did they take her?" Hiccup asked and looked back to the twins. They shook their heads – they didn't know. When he looked back to Eret, the man read his face and shook his head.

"I didn't have anything to do with this," Eret said a bit sternly. "Spitelout let me out earlier because there was a herd of wild dragons attacking. Under it all, we discovered later that Aiden was nowhere to be found-

"W-what?" Hiccup whispered. His face paled even more than the snow surrounding them. "He...no..."

Eret shook his head. "That's not everything," he looked at the twins hesitantly. "Spitelout sent me out to find you and tell you since we had been searching at Berk for days. But when I arrived and met the Twins, they had just discovered that-

"Trader Johann has him," Ruffnut stepped in, seeing Hiccup's figure pale even more. He looked as if he was about to faint. "And he has Astrid too."

Silence filled the air.

Hiccup clenched his fists slowly as he looked away. Everyone's eyes were on him and he could feel the pressure which was the last thing he wanted. Tears had built up in his eyes, but he was holding them back. The realization of the situation slowly poured into him and he wanted to do nothing more but throw a fist at someone. And so, he did.

"Hiccup!"


	19. Chapter 19

"Hiccup!"

Stoick couldn't react in time to pull his son back before Hiccup's fist connected with Eret's nose. The gesture surprised everyone and even the scouts moved to help keep him off the male. Eret stumbled backwards and into the snow, holding his broken nose with a groan. "B-bloody hell-what was that for!" He roared at Hiccup and tried to get up again to jump at the heir.

Hiccup didn't hesitate to get ready and it would have gotten dirty if the others hadn't stepped in. Snotlout and Gobber held Eret back roughly while Stoick held his son back a bit angry.

"Wow..." Tuffnut said mesmerized as he watched the heir.

"I didn't think he had it in him...he totally broke his nose!" Ruffnut laughed.

Hiccup glared harshly at Eret, a tear falling down his cheek. "If it hadn't been for you, I would have seen who Viggo was-Astrid wouldn't feel threatened to tell me anything-

"And why do you think she felt threatened?" Eret roared back at him and glared daggers at the other male. "You were ignoring her and spending more time around your new buddy-and I get the blame for it? Just because I was there when you weren't?!"

Hiccup glared harder at him. "You think I-I had a choice? To be gone for so many years, leaving-leaving her with..." he motioned with his hand at the man helplessly. "This?" He didn't want to admit that he was jealous – the man was better build, far stronger than himself and would make a perfect fit for Astrid.

Fishlegs watched them sadly. He looked over at Snotlout who was looking away silently, but still held onto the Viking. They all shared the same thoughts. While for Hiccup it was difficult to settle down with everything that had changed since he passed, but for them...everyone had lived on. No one had the slightest mistrust of Eret and no one had mentioned his connection with the previous dragon hunters.

"What?" Eret laughed. "Are you afraid that she'll choose me because I could have actually protected her? And Aiden?"

Hiccup's glare hardened. He was clearly ready to punch him again despite the burning sensation in his left hand.

"If you hadn't locked me up," Eret hissed at him as if everything was his fault. "She would be here. They would both be with _me_."

"If I hadn't-?" Hiccup stopped himself. "If you hadn't given me a reason to not trust you, I wouldn't stand against you the slightest-

"Oh yeah, right," Eret nodded. "You didn't just hate me from the moment you saw me."

"That's different," Hiccup hissed back at him. "You were with Drago-

" _Five_ years ago," Eret reminded him. "A lot has happened since you left and a lot better things would have if you _stayed_ away-

"Enough!" Stoick roared at the two and stepped in between them. He placed his hands against their chests and held them away from each other. "You're both acting like children." He hissed and looked back and forth at them. When they backed away and Stoick was certain they wouldn't jump each other, he lowered his hands. "Gobber take him to the healer's hut. Valka will show you the way," he said, and his right handed man nodded. "While you and I," He hissed at Hiccup. "Have enough to _talk_ about."

Hiccup glared back at his father, slightly ashamed. "I don't have anything to say to you," he said and turned towards Toothless. "Come on, buddy," he whispered and mounted the night fury. His friend took off before the chief could pull him off and the two didn't look behind them at all as they fled off into the evening.

Toothless cooed worriedly as he watched his friend settle down at the end of the cliff. He slowly walked up beside him and ever so gently laid down despite Hiccup's pleads of being alone. When the heir repeated his wish, he only snuggled closer – wrapped his tail around him and rested his head in his lap.

Hiccup gave up with a sigh. He rested his hand over his head and scratched his scales absently. His eyes were set on the horizon. "What am I going to do, bud?" Hiccup whispered helplessly. "Astrid and...Aiden...They are both out there in the hands of an enemy that tricked me. Tricked us all," he shook his head. "Thor knows where they may be now."

Toothless cooed sadly. He warbled and looked towards the horizon as well, trying to think of something that would encourage his friend to keep his head up, but even he knew it would be hard. Astrid and Aiden were his family. They were _his_ family too. He was just as worried as his rider and just as helpless.

 _They both hated that feeling even though you would expect them to be used to it by now._

Toothless' ear flabs lifted straight and his head soon did as well. The sound of wings flapping soon came into Hiccup's ears and the male sighed aggravated. "Dad, I told you I wanted to be alone-

"Oh, come on," The voice of Snotlout soon cut him off. Hiccup looked up as he saw the monstrous nightmare land behind them and his cousin hopped off. "I'm not that old."

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his eyes as he looked forward again. "I'm sorry-I didn't think it would be you. To be honest, I never would have guessed you'd be bothered to go up this mountain to talk."

Snotlout chuckled at that and walked up beside him. "I didn't walk," he said playfully and nudged his shoulder. Hiccup's hand went up to rub the sore spot awkwardly as his cousin settled down beside him. "And I didn't _fly_ up here just to _talk_." Hiccup looked at him. "At least not _that_ talk. I'm not your father."

"Well thank Odin for that..." Hiccup murmured and looked back at the horizon again with his hopeless but searching eyes.

Snotlout followed his gaze silently until he realized where they were. His eyes fell on the Eruptodon that was feeding on a leakage at the end of the mountain cliff by their feet. "I heard rumors that you weren't supposed to be near that dragon."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not easy to avoid her when the only place for some peace is up in her nest," he muttered and stared at the setting sun. His eyes burnt faintly from the light, but he found it rather settling. It managed to tear his mind off the situation ever so slightly and it was a good excuse as to why his eyes were still red and puffy.

Snotlout nodded slowly and folded his hands awkwardly in his lap. He swung his legs back and forth a few times and tried to avoid running the awkward atmosphere but couldn't help it. He let out a sigh and said, "I did...come up here to talk to you."

"If you wanted to surprise me, you should have told me everything was a joke made by the twins," Hiccup managed a small laugh, but it wasn't contagious. Snotlout's hope only fell more. "That they got me high on some herbs Gothi prepared and that the village is-

"It's not a joke, and you know that," Snotlout said a bit more serious. He didn't like to hear his cousin beat himself up.

"I do," Hiccup sighed and looked at his cousin. "And that's the problem. I don't..." he looked away ashamed. "For once...I feel lost. I don't _know_ how to fix this. I don't _know_ how to get them back."

"And you think we do?" Snotlout chuckled faintly and Hiccup looked at him again. "Your father is going nuts down there now that he knows about Trader Johann, and everyone else is trying to put together the information we have. But no one knows anything more than you do."

Silence fell upon them.

Snotlout's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I hate to admit it. And you know that I do," he warned. "But...You're our brain. We won't be able to figure out anything without you. And we know, you won't be able to figure out anything without us."

Hiccup stayed silent. He processed the words that escaped his cousin's lips and couldn't help a small chuckle. "Who did you meet that changed you so much?" he looked at him with a small smile.

Snotlout groaned at that. "Why does everyone keep saying that? The worst I've heard since I came back was Astrid wishing to meet a magical sea dragon that cursed me and what not."

Hiccup smiled a bit at that. It reminded him that Astrid had changed as well. She never was one to fantasize about anything. He guessed it was an effect of being around a child like Aiden all the time.

Snotlout soon shook his head and dismissed the topic with his hand. "That's not important," he said and looked over at him again. "But...that punch," he grinned slightly. Hiccup looked away embarrassed, expecting to get roasted. "I never would have expected it from you."

"Neither," Hiccup chuckled faintly and moved his left hand slightly. He stretched his fingers, curled them and released them again as his brain reminded him of the pain. It caught Snotlout's attention when he noticed the blood covered, bruised knuckles.

"Did you break anything?" Snotlout asked worried, taking his hand to have a look. Hiccup hissed faintly.

"Hey, hey," Hiccup pulled away his hand. "It's alright, but I'm sore. I'll be fine," he waved him off when he saw that Snotlout wanted to protest. "How is Eret?" he sighed.

Snotlout stayed silent, biting his lip and glaring at Hiccup. After a moment passed, he let it go and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, he definitely broke a bone. I'm sure Astrid won't even look at him now with that new nose."

Hiccup sighed at that and Snotlout realized right away he had made matters worse. "I should go apologize," Hiccup said and shook his head as he got ready to get up. Snotlout grabbed his shoulder and held him down with his firm grip. He merely shook his head.

"Not now," Snotlout said seriously. "I don't want you to do something you'll regret again, and I know that you won't let it go."

"I don't hold grudges," Hiccup muttered.

"Right..." Snotlout agreed sarcastically.

"What? I don't!"

"Yeah? How about the time your father-

"That was different," Hiccup protested.

"And the time the twins put your house on fire-

"They ruined personal belongings. Of course, I won't let that go right away-

"Then how is that not a grudge?" Snotlout snorted.

"Well-I wasn't trying to kill them," Hiccup muttered, but shut up when Snotlout glared at him. They both pictured the scene of the heir spending an afternoon chasing the blonde Vikings down in what resulted in nothing more than a lecture – though everyone has expected much more than that by the way Hiccup acted.

Snotlout rolled his shoulders slightly and bit his lip as silence consumed the air yet again. He looked away for a moment, ashamed of what he was about to say, but also proud. He was ashamed for failing his younger self – for putting someone's development infront of his own, and proud for the fact that he had changed for the better.

The words didn't come out as easy as he had hoped they would, but eventually they did and he had Hiccup's full attention. "I also wanted to come up here...to apologize."

Hiccup looked at him shocked, but mostly curious. He wanted to ask him what he was apologizing for, but he let the urge go and gave him his time. Since the Viking was apologizing and that Viking was Snotlout, he knew he needed it.

"I don't know...what will come," Snotlout chuckled faintly and looked down at the Eruptodon as it went by with its day. "I know no one does, and its scary. But...I know for sure that I don't want to go through it again if anything was to happen," he said sadly and looked at Hiccup for a small moment. The heir was now watching the dragon below their feet as well, figuring out in his head what he was referring to.

"I...I left Berk out of regret," Snotlout choked out in a whisper. He balled his fists. "Regret for how I treated you. Regret for how I talked and used you. Regret for how I never made it up for you...Regret..."

Hiccup shook his head faintly. "I know it may not feel like it, but you don't have any reason to," he smiled faintly. Snotlout looked at him and opened his mouth to protest, but Hiccup cut him off. "Without your words, without your fists if I should say," he joked, but neither smiled. "Without my father's harshness and without my mother's disappearance, none of this would have happened."

Hiccup's eyes fell to Toothless who cooed sadly. Neither were too happy about the outcome it had led for them at that very day – that everything had led to his son and girlfriend's disappearance, but that wasn't the point. Everything that had happened before it happened for a reason – it shaped them. It bonded them.

 _It stopped several wars._

"I wouldn't have met Toothless," Hiccup smiled and brushed his hand over his scales. "And you wouldn't have met Hookfang," he said as he looked up at Snotlout. The dragon nudged Snotlout faintly and the Viking realized what he was doing. He was _asking_ to be comforted when he came to comfort _him_.

Snotlout shook his head and Hookfang pulled away almost offended. "Don't do that," he said a bit harshly and Hiccup was taken aback. "Don't pity me when I'm trying so hard to get you back on your tracks."

Hiccup sighed at that and dropped his gaze. He smiled faintly. "I guess that's just another flaw I have that I can't do anything about," he shrugged his shoulder as a small joke, but yet again Snotlout didn't laugh or smile.

"You're family, Hiccup," Snotlout said to him and looked at his cousin. "And I don't plan on going through that again – I don't plan on letting anyone go through the sorrow and grief that we felt when you were gone. How Toothless felt." The dragon cooed at that and nudged his rider for comfort which was granted with a small scratch. "How your parents felt. How Astrid and Aiden felt. I won't have any of that."

Hiccup looked at Snotlout again. His eyes searched his for an answer – of what he was trying to point out, but the point never came, and he was left with more questions than answers.

Silence fell upon them yet again and it didn't take long before they were accompanied with the rest of their people – His parents, the twins, Gobber and Fishlegs. They were all there, sharing the same sympathetic looks as Snotlout had given him when they came up there.

As his mother slid down from Cloudjumper's back, Hiccup and Snotlout stood up. He brushed himself off awkwardly as Valka went up to him and didn't look up before a soft hand was placed on his cheek. Their eyes met – his scared against her stern ones.

"We'll get them back," She assured him with a small nod. "One way or another – but we won't stop until we do," she smiled faintly and stroked away a tear.

Hiccup sighed and closed his eyes. He leaned into her hand absently and finally let his mind disappear into another world. He imagined where Trader Johann could have taken them – what stories he had told that hinted of his whereabouts. He imagined where Viggo was guiding them – if it was to his home island or to an island off the map. And finally, he imagined where Astrid and Aiden were – he imagined her arms wrapped around his figure protectively and leaving him untouched by the traitors.

Astrid could do it. She was still a shield-maiden. Perhaps not as practiced as before, but her fierceness never disappeared. Hiccup imagined it would only strengthen it instead of weakening it. She would be able to protect them – protect their son until he found them and brought them home.

But before he could find them – before he could set out into the unknown waters, he knew he had to seek help. He had to find the one person he knew that was as adventurous as him, but not as restricted as he was by reputation. And that person was-

" _Heather. We need to contact Heather."_

"Are you serious?" Fishlegs asked, unable to contain his squeal. None of them had seen Heather since back in the day and they surely wanted nothing more but to meet her again for a reunion – though a reunion at this point in time wouldn't be ideal.

Hiccup nodded and fixed Toothless' saddlebag before he mounted his back. "I kept contact with her through Terror Mail a while before Drago," he explained and watched them get mounted. Gobber had left to get Eret – who Hiccup obviously didn't want to meet and was therefore urgent to leave already. "She used to scout around with her dragon Windshear – mapping the world much like I wanted to. She has definitely been to this part of the world, but I haven't had contact..." he coughed awkwardly and so did someone else in the small crowd – probably Tuffnut.

"But where can we find her if she's traveling?" Ruffnut asked puzzled. "It seems kind of hard – I mean traveling means moving, and moving means not staying in one place and then theres-

"We'll head back into the archipelago and send a terror mail," Hiccup explained and it didn't take long before Fishlegs flew over to him with Meatlug and handed him the paper and pencil he needed. He started to write as he continued, "Does anyone have a map I could borrow?"

Snotlout nodded and threw to him his old notebook. It took Hiccup a moment before he remembered and he almost dropped his pen and paper. He unfolded the book and the map, and let his eyes wander over everything new and everything old. He remembered a lot, but there was also a good part of it that was unfamiliar.

"I see..." Hiccup murmured faintly. "We should compare this to Mala's map. If she has anything to offer. I'll send out the terror mail and ask her to meet us half way. If she responds, we'll see her by dawn."

They nodded at that and Stoick ordered the twins and Fishlegs to inform her about the map. In the meantime, he was planning to have a talk with his son, much of what Hiccup was unsettled and unprepared for.

"Dad-

"Son," Stoick cut him off with a small grunt. The small audience of Snotlout and Valka went silent and so did the dragons that were present. He walked up to his son, his angry face never disappearing. Hiccup couldn't tell if he was completely mad at him for what he had done, or if a part of it related to the fact that Trader Johann was a traitor.

"I don't want to hear it," Stoick shook his head and Hiccup's shoulders slumped down in defeat. "I don't want to hear your excuses, apologies and what not. Eret is a great man."

Hiccup's eyes hardened a bit at that and he suddenly felt the strength to hold his shoulders up again. He stared at his father, giving him his attention. He knew arguing wouldn't do anything better even though he wanted nothing more than to defend himself.

"We understand," Stoick sighed and lowered his gaze in defeat. This time, it was his tense shoulders that fell. He stumbled a bit on his own words, tried to find the best way to formulate it. He knew his son – he was wise and understanding, but at the current situation he also understood why he was reacting like this. If he was in the situation himself, he would have been no different. His job was to support him – not to yell at him like he did before even though he was tempted to.

"We understand," Stoick repeated, slowly lifting his gaze. "That you don't fancy being around him or like the idea of _him_ being around _Astrid_. But he has been good. He has supported her these five years more than any of us."

Hiccup sighed and looked away. His father was speaking the words he heard on repeat ever since he mentioned his discomfort around Eret. He was right for her. _He_ protected her. _He_ comforted her. _He_ _saved her._ _He_ was the hero in their story – he was the ideal man for Astrid, and they all knew it. Especially him.

"You...would have let him have her, wouldn't you?" Hiccup whispered, slowly looking back at his father. "If he asked for her hand."

"That is not the point-

"But you would," Hiccup repeated a bit louder. "You would give him her hand because he was a perfect _replacement_ of _me._ "

Stoick sighed and shook his head. "Son-

Hiccup shook his head in return. Tears filled his eyes. "I understand that you would. I want the best for her, and my son. But I can't live with the fact that it felt like yesterday that I saw him at the front lines. That it felt like yesterday I saw him talking to Drago as if he was his friend – his dog. I can't see her living a life beside a man like that."

Stoick sighed again and looked at Valka completely helpless. He was fighting so hard – with himself and with his son. He was trying to hold back, trying to avoid lashing out at him to knock some sense in to him, but he knew he needed his time. They all did.

Valka smiled sadly and walked up to them. She laid her hand on Hiccup's and looked into his eyes. "We _understand_. We understand that everything is new for you. It's new for everyone and it's new for Astrid and Aiden."

"But...how am I supposed to adapt?" Hiccup whispered and looked to her and his father. He didn't have room to feel angry anymore. He just felt depressed. Lost. "I returned because I didn't think that I would ever have the chance to stay here for so long. I didn't expect to be here more than a day, but its been a month now. And I'm _still_ here. But so is he."

Valka thought for a bit before she slowly said. "Astrid...and Aiden. They love you both equally, and there is no changing the fact that Aiden is going to grow up together with you and Eret in his life," she shook her head faintly. "But...Astrid can change it. Let her decide."

Hiccup looked at her pleadingly. He didn't want to let go of her.

"If you truly love her," Valka sighed. "You would want everything good for her. And Eret might be one of those things."

Snotlout slowly stepped up to them and laid his hand on Valka's shoulder. Their eyes met and he looked into hers as if saying it was enough. She nodded with a faint smile and stepped back together with him. Stoick soon did as well when Fishlegs returned to inform them. It gave Hiccup some time for himself to think and recover from what he had heard.

But he didn't know how to recover. He didn't know how to adapt or how to feel about what he was being told. His mother had willingly left them alone for twenty years and it angered him that she hadn't returned – hadn't given them any sign that she was there in case they would change. But he also felt guilty for hating her about it. He understood how difficult it was for her, and who said that her situation was any different than the one he was in now? He guessed the only wise thing to do would be to listen, because one way or another he would search for them. Day and night. No matter what the outcome may be at the end of it all.

It was either him or Eret.

 _And he prayed to Odin silently that it would be himself._

"She should have been here by now," Fishlegs whined and jumped off Meatlug's back. He hurried to Hiccup worriedly, his hands clasped over his chest and curled together. "Do you think she got caught? The dragon hunters might have seen her or-or she might have been caught up in a storm-

"Fishlegs," Hiccup cut him off and laid his hand on his shoulder. "It's Heather. You know how she is. She has been living outside for years now. A storm would be the least of her concerns." He chuckled and immediately cut him off before he would ask him about the hunters. "She will be here. Just give her some time."

Fishlegs sighed and his shoulders fell. He walked back to Meatlug worriedly and the dragon cooed sadly. She offered him a hug that he immediately took.

"Incoming!" Snotlout yelled as he saw a black dot on the horizon. Hiccup looked over at where his finger was pointed and noticed it as well. It was hard to see at first, and Hiccup praised him for the good eye. He guessed it was related to his journey at sea.

"Is that her?" Tuffnut said surprised as he watched the silhouette fly by the waves.

Hiccup took out his spyglass and chased the shadow with it. A smile formed on his lips as he saw the familiar figure. "Yeah. That is our little explorer," he said and dismounted Toothless who was overly excited to meet her again. He went to the edge of the cliff they were resting on and searched for her again.

Suddenly a dragon flew up along the rock and Hiccup had to step back to not get smacked off the edge of the cliff. He was a little dazed at first, but his smile never left his lips. That was until he saw her weapon pointed at him and Windshear ready in a battle position.

"Wait..." A mutter came from her. She slowly removed her hoodie to get a better look. Her wide eyes were staring into Hiccup's. "There's no way..."

Hiccup's smile slowly returned, and he crossed his arms. "You sure have changed over the years. I barely recognized you."

Heather petted Windshear's side and they soon landed in the cleared area. She right away slid off her dragon and came to a small jog up to the Viking. "I didn't think...When I saw the terror mail I thought I was being messed with," she whispered with wide eyes as she came to a stop before Hiccup. For the longest moment, her eyes scanned his face and his body as if he was a ghost.

"You heard, didn't you?" Hiccup sighed and looked over at Fishlegs who was trying his hardest not to jump their old friend with a big hug.

"News spread fast across the archipelago," Heather sighed softly and pulled him in for a hug which Hiccup returned almost right away. She held him close while whispering. "How is this possible? Was it fake news because of someone or...?2

Hiccup pulled back and shook his head. "It's a long story that we don't have time to talk about. Astrid and Aiden...the dragon hunters took them," he sighed and looked back at her. "The twins said Trader Johann was in on it-

"Trader Johann?" Heather asked shocked. Hiccup nodded in return. "How did your dad take the news?"

"Better than I would have expected," Hiccup chuckled faintly. He looked up as Snotlout came into view. His hands were reaching out for her dragon.

"There's no way you have one of these..." Snotlout whispered. "Atali will be so happy."

Heather smiled at that and pulled back. She went up to her and gently stroked her chin as she moved closer. "This is Windshear," she introduced them. "I met her one day when I was stranded on an island. I got shipwrecked," she laughed. "At first I thought she was a hatchling, but it turned out she was just over that face and adapting to the adult life."

Hiccup smiled at that. "I can only assume she was being bullied by the grown-ups there."

Heather nodded to confirm it. "We bonded and by the time that my boat was back to normal I decided to let her go. But she didn't want to," she smiled, and her dragon purred and rubbed against her cheek. Heather laughed at that. "I'm glad she didn't want to."

"She's gorgeous," Hiccup hummed and gently lifted his hand to her. Windshear took a moment to look over him and sniff him before she leaned into his touch and purred as well.

"What about Asmund?" Tuffnut chuckled. "I thought you had a crush on a guy back then. I mean, how can I forget when that set those two morons on a hunt for my sister every day." He rolled his eyes and glared at Snotlout and Fishlegs who looked away embarrassed and annoyed.

Heather's eyes saddened. "He..." She sighed and Windshear immediately noticed her distress. She cooed worriedly and rubbed against her. "He was killed in the shipwreck."

Tuffnut's eyes widened much like the others' and he received a punch in the shoulder by Ruffnut who sat just beside him in the saddle.

"I...I'm sorry for your loss, Heather," Hiccup sighed and looked at her worriedly, but Heather shook it off with a smile.

"I-It's why I haven't shown up in so long," Heather admitted and watched her dragon go ahead and get to know the other dragons. "It happened not too long after I heard the news about you..."

Hiccup nodded understandingly at that. He rested his hand on his shoulder and assured it would be alright. That he was there for her. And in return she smiled at him gratefully.

"Back to the problem at hand," Heather shook off the topic and looked around for a moment. "You said Astrid was gone. And...Aiden?"

Hiccup chuckled faintly and nodded. "My son."

"Your...wait what?" Heather's eyes paled. His son...His son was taken by the dragon hunters. "That's no good..." she whispered.

"Of course, it's not," Hiccup frowned as he looked at her. "But we don't know enough to help them. That's why we called for your help. Do you know anything that can help us?"

Heather sighed and looked into his eyes. "I know a lot. And I know for sure that we can't sit around any longer than we have to."

Hiccup tensed at that, sensing that something was terribly wrong. Was this what Odin was warning him about? One of his...trials? He already knew the situation was horrible, but he didn't expect the hunters to use his son for anything else but hostage. His face soon paled. If they tortured him...

"That's not our only problem," Snotlout stepped in and looked at Hiccup worried. "We're less men and...dragons that we thought we were."

"What do you mean?" Hiccup barely managed to get out. He cleared his throat to try to seem collected.

"Atali's island was in worse condition than Mala's," Snotlout shook his head faintly. "The dragons..."

 _"They didn't make it."_


	20. Chapter 20

" _Move along_."

Johann spoke and Viggo pushed the blonde Viking down the plank to the docks while her bounded hands held onto the child. An intense glare was shot at the man, but there was no more sign of resistance. The two weren't worried about the Shield Maiden escaping because of the little restrictions they were giving him, and Astrid understood it too. With her hands bound and Aiden in-between them, there was no way of getting a weapon without hurting the child.

Either way, Astrid had figured half way to what she guessed would be the base of the Dragon Riders that they weren't there to harm her. They were using her as a bait to get Hiccup, but she didn't quite understand yet what they needed him for or _how_ they had found out that he was alive. Did they bring him back?

 _Did they control the Gods – whoever they claimed to be now?_

If anything, Hiccup was much like a God in her eyes. He had survived death to the point that rumors spread of his immortality. He didn't seem like a God when it came to his figure, but on the inside, he was no different from the old wife's tales she had heard as a child. It made her believe that the illusion of a God – or a greater power, was far beyond their understanding, and therefore she avoided to question it and took it as it came.

But did that mean the Dragon Hunters believed he was one? Or was Johann one to say the least? The world was bizarre, and the universe even more so. Nothing made sense anymore, and the more anyone dug into it – the more the elders preached about the higher power, the more puzzled people became. Was there a higher person or a higher being above God? Or perhaps nothing at all?

Johann ordered some of his men to bring the sedated dragon to the prison. Astrid found herself unable to call out a word. She was afraid that if she showed too much emotions about her dragon, they would use it against her, but she also feared that if she showed too little, they would find her useless and skin her for their armor. After all, her scales were one of a kind. At least, that's what Valka had told her once.

"What are the plans for these two?" Viggo asked the man in command, his hands gripping firmly on a spear pointing to the Shield Maiden's back.

Johann's eyes met his and he nodded them ahead. "To my hut. I'll arrive shortly," he said and started to walk off. "I need to make sure everything is going as planned."

Viggo nodded and without another question he forced Astrid forward – the girl taking a few quick steps to avoid the sharp blade between her shoulder blades again.

Astrid looked over her shoulder for a moment, her eyes tracking the trader as he wandered off to the left of the docks and up a hill with two hunters. Her eyes went forward again when he was out of sight, and she finally let herself take in the surroundings.

The place was gloomy and dark, much alike the aura now radiating off Viggo _and_ Johann. The island itself lacked nature – the trees were mostly cut down or left for later use and the island was nothing but a docked rock with cliffs and tunnels.

As Viggo led her through a tunnel, she was almost right away met by the sight of a dragon skeleton. It was far too old to be recognizable, but by its size and structure she could only imagine it being a gronckle which was another reason she was grateful that Fishlegs wasn't behind to patrol much like he wanted to.

When they exited the tunnel, she wasn't as surprised as before to see more skeletons laying around in what seemed to be a big, handmade quarry. The quarry was filled with tents and holes that had turquoise-like metal cages. If Hiccup was in her place, he would probably have made a joke about how empty the cages were to calm himself, but Astrid didn't find any comfort in her own humor so she said nothing and only analyzed the situation.

"You seem interested," Viggo hummed and walked calmly behind her.

Astrid could feel his eyes like daggers in her neck. She looked over her shoulder at him for a moment. "I'm just learning from you, seeing as your eyes were pretty interested in my home too," she spat and held Aiden closer.

"I guess it's more of a natural instinct, rather than a copy of behavior, my dear," Viggo chuckled. "It can be quite scary to wander around as a captive without knowing where you are. So how about I show you around for a bit?"

Astrid stopped, and Viggo didn't punish. She turned a bit to him. Johann's tent was only a few feet ahead of them – she guessed it was his by how decorated it was with different jewelry and what not compared to the other tents.

Viggo looked at her with his same smug grin that never seemed to have warned Hiccup. It was after all a part of his personality. Or so it seemed, at least. "Well?" he urged her, motioning with his staff to his right. Unsure, she slowly walked after it. She wasn't sure if she had a choice. Johann could return in a matter of minutes, or they may bump into him on their little "tour", but Viggo didn't seem worried and Astrid didn't want to say no to more free information.

"I know this may all be a bit confusing," Viggo continued as they walked. "You wouldn't have guessed Johann could be behind any of this, am I right?"

Astrid nodded faintly, her eyes still strictly scanning the area as they walked through another, but much longer tunnel. "We knew he travelled a lot, but he was mostly scared of the dragons at first. It's hard to believe he's leading an army of dragon hunters."

Viggo couldn't contain his small laugh. "The man used to be a great hunter because of his deceiving nature. Do you know where he originally comes from?"

Astrid thought for a moment. "Romans. That's where his clothes are from, at least."

Viggo shook his head although he knew she couldn't see. "No," he said. "He's from beyond that. A place no one up here speaks of except for foreigners. Now, you don't meet many of those, do you?"

Astrid shook her head.

"Well, that's not as important," Viggo nodded. "He didn't show up before our leader killed his second in command, Krogan," he said, but stopped there and so did Astrid until her back was poked again. Viggo led her to a halt when they first excited the tunnel and entered a cave at the other end. The cave wasn't filled with anything but another hole across from it, but the thing that caught Astrid's eye was the egg in the middle of it. It was white with a faint blue, and the dots on the egg were smeared out like blood prints. If it had spikes, Astrid could have easily mistaken it to be a Bewilder Beast.

"What is that?" Astrid slowly asked, approaching it. The egg was resting on a bed of twigs and rocks and there was a small hole in the ceiling giving it a ray of sunlight.

"That," Viggo hummed and walked up to her. "Is a dragon egg of a true Alpha."

" _The Alpha of destruction."_

Astrid looked up at him and Aiden hid into her arms even more at the word. He had heard it numerous of times when he talked with the twins and he knew it was nothing good. But Astrid knew for sure it wasn't anything good, and she was slowly setting together the pieces. "Who...killed Krogan?"

Viggo smirked. "I think you would know who. Your dear boyfriend, Hiccup, seemed to have a very troubling past with him after all."

Astrid looked back at the egg. The dragon hunters weren't another army with the same idea of the dragons as _Drago Bludvist had._ He had _another_ alpha, and she had a feeling it wasn't going to be used any differently in the hands of Johann.

"And you, my dear," Viggo hummed as he saw it crack slightly before their eyes. Astrid slowly backed away from it. "Will be the lucky one to train it~"

* * *

" _Heather. Are you confident this was it_?"

Hiccup asked as he slowly slid down from Toothless' back. His legs landed in the sand below and he almost slid thanks to his prosthetic. As his eyes scanned the area, he couldn't see anything but untouched nature. The hilltops were packed with snow-covered trees and grass, and the mountaintop didn't show any other sign of life than a dragon that flew into one of its caves.

Heather slid off as well and looked around, puzzled. "This is the place they have been hanging out for the last few months. They can't just...The last I saw them here was a few weeks."

Stoick shook his head. "That's enough time for them to pack up and leave without a trace. It's a dead end-

"We don't know that for sure," Hiccup cut him off and shook his head. He started to search around together with Toothless. "There has to be something that they forgot to bring."

Stoick watched his son for a moment before his eyes went to Valka's eyes. They both shared the same thoughts – they knew Hiccup was desperate to find them and with this being the only trace they had they knew he wouldn't let it go easily.

"Alright," Stoick nodded and looked over at his right where Gobber, the twins and Snotlout were waiting for commands. "Search around with your dragons. We'll take the ground," he said and slid off. They nodded and hurried off right away.

Heather sighed and motioned for her dragon to follow them while she jogged after Hiccup. "I don't understand this at all," she shook her head. "Trader Johann took them?"

Hiccup nodded and kicked a rock away with his prosthetic – his gaze heavy on the ground. "That's what the twins are saying," he murmured and finally looked up. "Don't take this to heart, but are you sure this was the island? They wouldn't just pack up their base and move it without a reason."

"And I know that," Heather said and looked around. She lifted her hand and pointed it towards the forest. "It's a big island, but their tents were at the edge of the forest. I never spotted anyone entering it."

Hiccup followed her finger and jogged up towards the edge. Upon arriving there, he only spotted a few broken logs and splints. "Did anyone enter it?" he asked as he looked up at the forest.

Heather shook her head. "Not that I know of," She explained as he kept searching around for anything. Hiccup slowly stopped. Their dragons had been hesitant, even Toothless, when they spotted the island on the horizon. Fishlegs had concluded that it could have been dragon root – something they came across when harvesting Mildews old home after he passed. Heather had been the one to say that the island was safe even so, but that they still had to be cautious incase of any leftover dragon hunters.

"Weird..." Hiccup murmured and picked up the logs. He looked over it for a moment before he set it down again and started to walk towards the forest. Toothless immediately ran ahead of him and stopped him. He warbled, his ears laying flat. "We have to go in and see," Hiccup protested and tried to push past him, but Toothless pulled him back by his arm.

Hiccup stopped and looked at him with a small glare, but it soon fell as he saw the look in his eyes. He sighed and backed away as he looked up at the trees in front of him. "What can possibly make an alpha this scared?" he whispered and slowly backed away with Toothless pulling him more and more back.

Heather followed them unsure. "Do you think it could have been a primary place for the hunters? It's a huge island and I've only seen a couple of species that dare to enter."

Hiccup looked at her at that. "So, there are dragons that willingly enter the forest?" Heather nodded. Hiccup looked up at the mountain for a moment but shook his head. He took out the notebook from Toothless' saddle and a charcoal pen as well. "What dragons?"

Heather went quiet for a moment before she said, "Speedstinger, Sandwraith, Sweet Death...Night Terror and Rumblehorn-

"Rumblehorn?" Hiccup looked at her. His father had one, but then why did he react the same as their dragons did?

Heather nodded but stopped him from running to get his father. "But the thing is that these dragons didn't look the same as they normally do," she said and gently took the pen from him and the book. She used Toothless for support – which he didn't mind despite his curiosity. "Speedstingers are usually blue and white, but these were yellow and green. The closest I got to one was when I approached the nest up in the mountain. Its scales looked more like rocks-

"Like a camouflage?" Hiccup asked and watched her draw the dragons as she remembered. Heather nodded silently and didn't comment more until she had finished a rough sketch of the species. He picked up the notebook and held it up beside Skullcrusher in the distance. "Huh..." he whispered.

"The only dragon we know of that could go against dragon roots would be gronckles, but Meatlug was hesitating too," Hiccup said and looked up at the forest again. "But if the hunters didn't want to enter either..." he slowly said. "Then it can't be dragon root. There has to be an alpha on this island," he said, his eyes brightening up a bit more. Toothless whimpered and nodded to confirm it.

"But what kind of alpha?" Heather asked as she too looked to the forest.

"It can't be any good if it scared the hunters off in a hurry like that," Hiccup said and put the notebook back in the saddle. He mounted Toothless and helped Heather up before the dragon ran back to regroup with the others.

"Did you find anything?" Fishlegs asked hopefully as he saw Hiccup's small excitement. "New species? Another dragon maybe?"

"There's an alpha here," Hiccup said right away, and all eyes were on him. Even the dragons were looking at him, but they were only confirming the information more and more as it came to them. "This isn't the dragon hunters base. This was only a look out-they must have figured it out too, but that still doesn't explain the reason for their leave," he said and looked up as the others were back from their search. "Anything?"

"Aye," Gobber nodded and held up a broken arrow. The handle was stained in red and the tip of the arrow was a slightly grin color. The dragons hissed right away, but Meatlug stood completely still. "Dragon root arrows. They were spread across the beach on the other side of the island."

"Seems like the whole island has a never ending beach," Tuffnut hummed happily. "I would love to take a vacation here one day!"

Valka slowly took the arrow from him and looked at it. She searched around for anything that could brighten her memory, but Eret did it for her. He took it from her and held rubbed the red color away with his shirt. It revealed a scorch mark – a crest.

"This belonged to Drago," Eret said and looked up at them, his eyes avoiding Hiccup. "He used to have a massive supply of dragon root – one arrow and even the toughest of Rumblehorns were downed."

"And...that means that Johann had a connection to Drago," Snotlout slowly concluded out loud.

Eret nodded. "He must have been one of his secret dealers. Drago had a few of them who not even I knew of, as his second in command."

Snotlout looked at Hiccup worriedly. "Do you think he's back-

Hiccup shook his head. "He's not. Trust me...I just...know," he said and looked at his parents who nodded. He took a moment before he finally looked at Eret who he had been avoiding looking at as well. "Do you know if he had a base anywhere else?"

Eret slowly looked at him, sensing his cold glare was lifted. He nodded. "I know of several places, but the closest one here would be the island of his last second in command, Krogan. He was the one that found the Bewilderbeast egg for Drago."

Hiccup nodded at that and took a deep breath.

" _Then that's where we're heading first."_

* * *

 _"Hey!"_

Astrid grunted at Viggo as she kicked her behind her knees and she landed roughly on the ground before a desk in Johann's hut. She held Aiden closer as he cried out in fear and assured him that everything was fine.

"I'm just making sure you won't run off, dear," Viggo snickered slightly and walked in front of her since there were hunters guarding the door for him. "And I'll make myself clear again," he said and lifted her chin. "You will train that dragon, but Johann won't know any of it. _Understood?_ "

Astrid glared up at him. "And what if I tell him? What if he finds out that the egg is already-"

"Oh, he'll know that the dragon is born," Viggo laughed faintly and let go of her chin. He stood up straight again and began pacing back and forth before her, his arms folded behind his back. "But he has different plans for the egg than I do."

Astrid's glare didn't fade. "And why would that be? He's your leader, isn't he?"

Viggo grinned at that and stopped pacing. "I'll have you know, that no one will ever command me. _Especially_ ," he spat. "Not a maniac like him-

"Sir," Two mutters came from the outside and the tent soon opened. Johann walked inside, his posture straight and slightly proud, but his face said otherwise. His eyes glared intensely at Viggo as he walked inside and towards the other side of the desk. "And who is that maniac you are speaking of?"

Viggo glared slightly back at him and stood beside Astrid. He watched him silently.

Johann shook it off for now, but the comment still lingered in the back of his head. He looked at Astrid and Aiden. "Pardon his behavior, lass," Johann hummed, and his strict face fell, but Astrid's didn't. "He doesn't quite _understand_ how important it is for you two to be in well-condition."

"Well-condition for us must mean different things, then," Astrid hissed at him. "Seeing as we're here in the hands of a traitor used as _bait_ -

"Oh, so you do understand," Johann laughed. "What you're doing here."

"I do," Astrid nodded and straightened up. "But I don't understand why you took yourself the bother to bring my son all the way from Berk when I'm enough-

"Well, without your son you wouldn't have willingly come with us, now would you?" Johann said with a small smirk. "It's been hard to plan this, you know. How to get Hiccup back, well and alive, and how to get him back in our grip-

"What did you do?" Astrid glared at him. "How did you get him back here? He was..."

"Dead?" Johann laughed. "I know. And thanks to him, he killed Drago so that I could take over. I owe him that, but you see, I didn't bring him back here to repay him – oh no, we both know that he would one day find out about us and take care of it the same way he did with Drago."

Astrid didn't say anything and just watched him.

" _I_ brought him back," Viggo rolled his eyes slightly. "So that he could tame dragons for me. The old classic."

"You sound just like Alvin," Astrid said and slowly moved her hands down to Aiden's. She stroked them gently. "Speaking of-you were the one who took him, didn't you? You weren't supposed to visit Berk before the end of the month and then you show up so suddenly after the word went out about his grave?" she said and glared up at Viggo for a moment.

Johann laughed. "Dear, I knew about the grave all along. But it wasn't until Viggo informed me that it was already dug up that I decided to go in and get it. It was the only way to do so without getting caught or making anyone suspicious."

"But your plan never was for Snotlout to find Hiccup – or for Toothless to find him, and bring him home, was it?" Astrid said as she put the pieces together. "Something happened along the way."

Johann slowly looked up at Viggo, a glare directed towards the black-haired man. "Indeed, lass. Something did happen. But that is dealt with and out of discussion. So," he hummed and looked back at her with a smirk. "You wondered how _I_ brought him back from the dead?" he hummed and changed to his story-telling tone. The one thing that Astrid had wished was an act when she found out that he was a traitor.

"I travelled deep across the ocean, letting the waves carry me to-

The tent soon opened again and a bulky man stepped inside, cutting Johann off. Two guards followed him inside and soon threw a bag down behind Astrid.

"Ahh, Ryker," Johann said half-cheerful and walked away from his desk. He went to the bag that Astrid soon realized was a corpse by the sight of all the blood. It couldn't have been Alvin's corpse, right? It didn't have any blood left.

"What do we have here?" Johann asked as one of the hunters undid the tie at the top of the bag. He pulled it down to reveal the head and sure enough it wasn't Alvin, but a poor victim. Astrid quickly covered Aiden's eyes and turned forward again.

"The man couldn't do anything with Alvin's corpse," The man called Ryker, explained. For the split second Astrid allowed herself to see him, she noticed he wore much the same as Viggo now did, but the man himself was bulkier than him. He wore dragon scales and even had a dragon skull at his belt. Astrid could only guess he was another one of Johann's trusty men. "It turned out it was all a lie – he never brought back a single human from dead. He was merely a man searching for money."

"Ah, I see," Johann nodded. "Dump him in the ocean. And come here and clean up later," he muttered and went back to the desk before Astrid. Ryker and Viggo shared a small look before the three men left the hut again and they were left alone.

"As I was saying, _I-_

"I think it's clear to her now that you never had Hiccup in the first place," Viggo stopped him with a small scowl. Johann glared daggers at the man and looked down at Astrid who merely shrugged her shoulders.

"He has a point there, so spare yourself those boring stories," Astrid muttered the last part and Johann seemed to almost flip off his cool. The man contained himself and looked back at Viggo.

"The Dragon Eye. Where did you hide it this time?" Johann asked, taking his dagger out of his belt. He dug it into the table as he watched the man's expression.

"If you would take a moment to look around and perhaps _think_ ," Viggo suggested. "You will see that I hid it in the same place as I always do."

Johann's glare hardened, but relentlessly he moved over to the chests that were piled up on one another behind his desk. He moved a few aside, and Astrid made sure to watch closely for whatever object they were speaking off. Her hands were still covering Aiden's just in case he pulled out an eye of a dragon, though she highly doubted it.

Soon, the trader pulled out a chest and set it on top of the desk. Astrid took notice that unlike the other chests sprawled around, it had golden features to it. When he had opened it, he pulled out a long, silynder shaped object that had a dragon's head at the end of it. It seemed almost like a device that Hiccup would have made from his crazy fantasies.

Johann pulled out something from the chest which looked like a piece of transparent material with wooden edges, but he soon stopped as if realizing they were still there. He glared at Viggo. "Well?"

Viggo nodded slowly and pulled Astrid back up on her legs. "I'll take her to the prison," he muttered and pushed her towards the opening of the tent. Astrid stopped to glare at Viggo. As she walked out, she took notice of the same, baldheaded guy entering. Their eyes met for a moment, but she broke the gaze as she saw the terrible terror in his arms.

"Move along," Viggo muttered and poked her in the back again. Astrid moved right away and looked over her shoulder as he did. What was that object and how did Johann get the hold of it?

As Viggo led her out and a good distance away from the tent, Astrid noticed he wasn't leading them towards the cages, but instead he was taking them towards the tunnel-system again. "You won't get away that easily," Viggo hummed as they walked. "Johann will be busy for a while and while he is, you will take care that his dragon is well trained."

"And if I don't?" Astrid asked as she looked at him.

Viggo smirked. "Well, the dragon will eat you of course."

Astrid's glare slowly hardened. She held Aiden closer and continued to walk deeper into the tunnel until she was led into a bigger cave than the one she had previously been in together with the dragon egg.

Viggo stopped and lowered his spear. When Astrid had turned around to face him, she had already realized where she was.

 _A dungeon_.

Viggo held his hand out and Astrid held Aiden closer which made him raise his eyebrow. "Alright. If you want to risk his life as well," he hummed and backed away to a handle.

Astrid's eyes widened as she saw the bars in the roof. She hesitantly looked at him before she moved Aiden towards the man.

Aiden whimpered right away. "Mama!" He ran back to her and hugged her leg tightly.

"Aiden," Astrid shook her head and gently pulled him off. She kneeled down to him and lifted his chin. Her eyes met his, both filled with tears. "It's only for a few minutes."

Aiden whimpered again. "B-but he's mean..."

"He won't do anything," Astrid assured him with a small smile. She looked up at Viggo for a moment before she gently pushed him towards the Viking. "A few more minutes okay?"

Aiden's tears fell down his cheeks as he stumbled backwards. He slowly looked up at the man, his little hands clutching the necklace he had received from Hiccup. His dragon was back on Berk since he dropped it when Johann came, and now it was the only thing he had for comfort except for Astrid.

Astrid whispered a small "I love you," and slowly got up on her knees as the bars went down and split them. Right away, Aiden ran to the bars with a terrified scream.

"Mommy!" He whimpered.

"Quiet!" Viggo hissed at him and wrapped his arm around his neck. Astrid ran towards the bars right away but stopped as she realized he was just holding his hand over his mouth. He didn't want Johann to know that they were there.

Viggo and Astrid's eyes met for a moment, before she slowly nodded. She looked up as she heard an ear-piercing scream and covered her ears right away. She barley had time to react and to prepare herself before she saw a dragon hatchling coming into sight. It was completely white except for the spikes on top of its head which were covered in red, blood like patterns much like its egg.

However, the feature of the dragon wasn't the regular kind. It didn't have legs and reminded her more of a huge worm than a dragon – its tail became thinner and thinner but also grew redder and redder. Its blood red eyes were staring intensely into her own, and she knew then and there:

 _The dragon wasn't tamable._

The first blast came as a surprise, but enough years of encounter and practice with baby dragons gave her an advantage. She rolled away immediately but remembered what position she was in before. Her eyes right away went to the bars. She was relieved to see Aiden backed up without any burns, but he was clearly terrified for her, and Astrid was too. It had been a while since she had encountered untamed dragons and thankfully it wasn't anything new.

"Okay...okay..." She whispered to herself as she got back up on her feet. She knew that if she was to ever train the hatchling, she had to use the dragon to her advantage. She had to make sure that Viggo didn't get his hands on it or bond with the dragon, and for that exact reason she made sure to try and keep the attention on her.

Her plan was simple:

 _Don't get killed._

 _Don't get hurt._

 _Don't hurt the dragon._

 _Make Viggo afraid of it once trained._

 _Grab Aiden and flee to the ships._

She had a hard time believing the dragon would be able to fly far distances since it was a newborn, but she was sure that because it had an unusual size it would be able to carry the two at least a few feet away from Viggo and Johann's grip.

Silently cursing because of her tied hands, she rolled to the side again when the big ball of fire came towards her. The dragon was by now closing in even more, but just like any other dragon it would have to have a fire limit. And so she counted.

 _3._

Astrid ran to the side.

 _4._

"Come on-"

 _5._

The fifth blast came faster than she expected, but her great reflexed set her in motion.

 _6._

"And you're out..." Astrid sighed relieved and got back up on her feet. She looked over at Aiden with a reassuring smile before she slowly started to approach the hatchling with her arms stretched out. "See?" she looked down at the chains, silently hoping the dragon did too. "I'm captured in here just like you," she whispered and spoke softer for every step she came to the dragon. Being a mother gave her a sense of control – the hatchling was in distress and perhaps islands away from its mother.

The dragon eyed her carefully, but didn't attempt to shoot any more fireballs. As Astrid closed in and stood only a few feet away from the hatchling, she relaxed fully and was about to turn her head away when the dragon suddenly flew up and dove down to the ground. To Astrid's shock, it dug a whole and in only a few seconds the ground below her started to give in.

Astrid jumped to the side, but she wasn't quick enough and her leg got caught up in it's teeth. She hissed in pain as the sharp teeth went up against her leg. The dragon tried to grab it again, but she tore her leg away and rolled away from her next attack. When the dragon was recovering from its attack, she crawled away and looked down at her right leg. It was bleeding heavily – the tooth had only ripped so much of the fabric for her to see, but she could only guess how bad it was.

Viggo cursed under his breath and pushed Aiden further into the hall. The child squeaked and whimpered as he fell on his butt, but the Viking paid no mind. He opened the bars when the dragon was going for another attack and immediately ran towards them.

Just before the dragon could get ahold of Astrid, it stopped and started to back away. Viggo slowed down and took out the little piece of dragon root he always brought with him. "Come here, boy," Viggo said and waved it around in the air. He backed away a few steps but started to run as the dragon followed with top speed. He threw it into one of the tunnels, and as the dragon sped after it, he turned direction towards Astrid and fetched her up in his arms.

Astrid hissed in pain as her injured leg moved, but she held onto his chest either way as he brought them to safety. The sound of the bars going down again was heard and the only thing keeping her awake was the terrified child calling from her side.

"I-I'm okay," She whispered, but hissed as she felt pressure on her leg. She gently took Aiden's hand and held it to assure him everything would be alright.

"M-mommy hurt!" Aiden whimpered and hugged her to try and make her better.

Astrid laughed a bit at that. She held him close and looked over at Viggo who was wrapping a piece of cloth tightly around her leg to stop the flow.

Soon footsteps were heard running towards them and upon looking after them Astrid discovered the man Ryker running ahead of Johann to their position. She tried to move Aiden behind her which he thankfully did himself and sat up.

"What happened?" Johann almost roared as he got to them. He looked between Astrid and Viggo, but before the man could come up with one of his excuses, the hatchling returned and tried to break through the bars. Johann's eyes widened as he realized it had hatched and almost hypnotized, he walked towards the bars.

Ryker eyed Viggo for a moment before he looked at Johann. "I don't think ye should stick yer hand in there-

"Oh!" Johann laughed and pulled it back just in time. The dragon only seemed to get more annoyed by it and flew at the gate harder. "Start digging the holes above the tunnels," he commanded Ryker as he watched the dragon bewildered.

"Aye," Ryker nodded and jogged out of the tunnel.

Viggo wrapped his arm around Astrid's shoulder and helped her up despite her protests. He started to walk away with her, but Johann stopped them.

"You better make sure she _stays_ locked up this time," Johann said and slowly looked over his shoulder. "We can't afford more of your _mistakes_. You'll ruin everything."

Viggo glared back at him. "Very well, _sir_ ," he spat and continued to support her as they walked. When Astrid looked over her shoulder, she could see Johann whispering something to the dragon, but it was out of her reach.

She had a feeling that training the dragon for Viggo wouldn't be the hardest thing she'd had to do.


	21. Chapter 21

Astrid hissed at the feeling of a moist cloth pressed against her bleeding room. She received a small stare from her caretaker which resolved in her mentally scolding herself for her weakness. She had given up for a moment to look strong for Aiden, but she would never give up long strong for the enemy.

"You may spare yourself some energy if you lean back and relax," Viggo said calmly and pressed the cloth against her wound again. Astrid bit her lip tighter.

"Easy for you to say," She muttered annoyed, her hand clutching Aiden's gently. The boy was sitting in her lap in hope to comfort her mother, but he was also trying to comfort himself since he had never seen such a big gash before. Her hand roamed through his hair to calm him.

"It is, indeed," Viggo hummed as if teasing her. "I am not the one pathetic enough to get hurt after all-

" _Pathetic_?" Astrid spat at him and Aiden whimpered. "You were the one who set me in that position even though it looked like you knew how to handle the dragon pretty well."

Viggo considered her comment for a moment before he pulled back the cloth and said, "I only know so much, _dear_ ," he said although he figured she hate the nickname. "Considering you come from a home packed with tamed dragons, it wouldn't be too absurd if someone wanted to see a dragon trainer in action – for the purpose of learning more, I mean."

Astrid's glare lifted ever so slightly and Viggo went back to treating her leg with poor stitching and bandages. "W-what dragon was it?" She asked, trying not to reveal the fact that they hadn't ever encountered one before though it reminded her a lot of a whispering death.

Viggo looked up at her again and Astrid could feel him read his face, something she rarely appreciated unless it was someone close to her. "It's called _The Screaming Death_ ," Viggo explained and Astrid wanted to facepalm. The name was so ironic and simple that she thought for a moment Hiccup had encouraged it. "You could say it's the mother breed of the whispering deaths, though I can hardly see any similarities aside from the feature."

Astrid eyed him. "And that's supposed to mean...?"

Viggo chuckled faintly. "I'm most certain you already know, but I do understand your confusion. The dragon isn't exactly very common – its an alpha to certain dragons and Johann had the wonderful idea to take it away from its home."

Astrid had to roll her eyes. "Well isn't that just the typical villain mission? Capture the mightiest dragon – the one that has the ability to control other dragons, and then use it against everyone that refuses to kneel?"

"Indeed," Viggo nodded and got up when he was done. "And that's where their weakness is. I'll have you know that I do not support Johann's plans-

"Don't need a genius to figure that out," Astrid muttered.

"-because it is foolish of him to rely on merely a dragon alone," Viggo continued, ignoring her remark. "He's weak without it."

"Which is why you want the dragon trained before him?" Astrid said and moved back against the wall to avoid being near the man. "How does that make you anymore different than him? It's just a matter of who's first out – like a race."

Viggo laughed at that. "I didn't for one minute find _you_ foolish enough to believe I was anything compared to him. We are two very _different_ individuals with _different_ aspects in life. He wants to get revenge on Hiccup and take control of the world, which obviously is a very arrogant _dream_."

"And you?" Astrid asked before he could continue ranting on about Johann's mistake. She was fully aware that the man had his flaws and poor judgement which was why she was more interested in learning about the man standing before her. Johann wasn't their biggest threat although his face was literally painted over everything – Viggo was. Johann knew that too. "What would you do if The Screaming Death was tamable?"

Viggo eyed her. "Are you saying that it is not?"

Astrid glared at her. "That wasn't the question."

"I assume not," Viggo chuckled and walked towards the door. "But the information...I wouldn't trust you with it. You seem to side more with Johann than me, but why am I surprised?" He locked the metal bars behind him. "You have known each other for ages – you know the man despite his sudden change. But you don't know me," he said and eyed her one final time. His eyes soon went up to the roof of the tunnel her cage was placed in when a loose pebble fell from the ceiling. His eyes narrowed.

" _And I've decided to keep it that way."_

Astrid's eyes tracked his figure as it disappeared into the sunlight outside and the dark silhouette of his body finally disappeared out of sight. Her eyes then slowly moved up to the ceiling. "Aiden?" she cooed to assure him it was safe.

The little boy peeked up from her chest – he had hidden his face in it because of the blood but mostly because of the scary man.

Astrid smiled warmly at him and cupped his cheeks. "We'll be alright," she whispered. "You know why?"

"N-no, mama," Aiden whispered scared, but hopeful. His eyes shone with light despite the dark cave they were trapped in.

"Because we have each other," Astrid smiled and kissed his head. She held him closer and relaxed. "No one will take us apart. I promise you that."

Aiden's eyes lit up a bit more and he immediately hugged her. The comfort in her words were pulling him towards her like a magnet and Astrid was relieved for that. She hadn't broken a promise in so long and she wouldn't start now. Not here. Anywhere else, but here.

Astrid smiled and held him close lovingly. She sighed quietly and started to process everything she knew; Johann and Viggo were both against each other but acting as allies; Viggo wanted _The Screaming Death_ , an _alpha_ that could dig itself through the ground and scream until your eardrums blew up; Johann being secretive about a device-

"DRAGON RIDERS!"

Astrid's head shot up as she heard a blast outside following the announcement of a dragon hunter. Almost right away, she pushed herself up on her good leg and limped over to the cage door in hope to see anything.

The familiar screech echoed outside, and yells followed instantly of terrified Hunters. Smoke covered the entrance and for a moment Astrid thought the worst; that was until she saw Hiccup running through the smoke and towards her.

"Oh, thank Thor," Hiccup breathed out as he ran up to the cage – Toothless hot on his tail. "I'm so glad you're alright-" he stopped himself as he saw the blood in the cell and her bandaged leg.

"Papa!" Aiden squealed and reached for him.

Astrid shook her head and limped away from the door. "I-I'll be fine-just get the door open!" She said and covered Aiden with her body. The boy whimpered and held onto her tightly.

"Bud," Hiccup nodded at him and stepped aside. The Night Fury charged its blast and shot it at the door, but to their surprise it didn't even leave a scratch. Hiccup ran up to it and tried to open it while Astrid went up to try and assist him from the other side.

"I-It must be dragon proofed somehow," Astrid said as she tried to force the lock up. She looked up as Hiccup backed up and stopped.

"I'll go get Gobber!" He said and told Toothless to stay put. Then he ran through the smoke that was starting to clear and disappeared.

Toothless cooed worriedly and pawed the cage with his claws. He tried to bite it and tear it off, but it did nothing but almost flip the cage over.

Aiden whimpered scared and crawled to Astrid's back instead. He hid his face in her hoodie while she held him up by his butt. "Okay...okay..." She said calmly as she tried to figure out a way to get out of there. "If the bars are fire proof, we'll need someone to tear it up," she continued, speaking a bit lower than usually.

Astrid's eyes first lifted from the bars when she saw two shadows outside, one big and one small. She grabbed onto the bars. "Hiccup you need to get the key-

"You mean this?" Johann smirked devilishly and held up said object. He approached her cage with Ryker by his side.

Toothless growled deeply and spread his wings slightly to protect the two, but he wasn't able to react in time to burn the incoming arrow of dragon root. It hit him square in his chest and with a moan, the Night Fury fell down unconscious.

"What did you do to him?!" Astrid yelled and bashed against the bars. She tried to open them up, but it was still stuck like before. When Johann walked past the dragon, she backed off.

"Our plan isn't ruined yet," Johann said and opened the cage with the key. Before Astrid was able to do anything, Ryker went inside and used his strength to overwhelm her. He tied her up roughly with ropes, receiving a helpless punch here and there as he did.

Astrid's eyes widened as Aiden was ripped off her shoulders and into Johann's arms. "Don't you dare-

"Mommy!" Aiden screamed and tried to reach after her, but the trader was already running out towards the exit.

"You better shut up," Ryker hissed in her face and stuffed a dirty cloth in her mouth. Then he threw her over his shoulder and ran after his leader, but much to Astrid's horror he started to run the opposite way of Johann.

Astrid trashed and screamed against the cloth, trying to spit it out but she was unable to due to the size that was straining on her jaw. She looked around helplessly and spotted her friends fighting their own battle against the hundreds of Dragon Hunters docked to the island. Valka was releasing trapped and muzzled dragons one by one while the chief defended her.

She tried to get a word out, a loud shriek – anything. But it was all muffled by the cloth and the growing distance between her and her rescuers. All she could pray for was that Hiccup had seen their son and gone after them instead while she was dragged into another tunnel forcefully.

" _Aiden!"_

Hiccup's yell echoed through the battlefield, enough to stop the most intense fights and help end them quickly. Valka had just then torn away the last muzzle when she heard his cry. Following the sound, she spotted Hiccup picking up a sword from a dead Dragon Hunter and disappearing into a tunnel.

Valka's eyes went to Stoick's and they both shared the same thought.

"Skullcrusher!" Stoick called and ran towards the tunnel. His dragon bumped away another fighter and shot a blast to finish its target before finally running up to reunite with his rider.

At the same time Valka had called for her Stormcutter but gave him different orders. "Regroup everyone!" She yelled and grabbed her shield just in time to block an arrow from one of the archers up the Quarry side. She looked around anxiously before running through the tunnel her son had just disappeared in.

Skullcrusher ran ahead when the first split came and started to lead them through every hole and tunnel. He recognized his rider's distress and without needing orders he was already chasing down the heir.

But the more they chased after them, the more worried Valka became. The tunnels were going randomly – some were moving down towards the ground and others straight up to another tunnel. They only reminded her of the whispering deaths – the species she would very well prefer not to bump into.

"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled for the third time. He was starting to lose hope despite his proficient dragon, but it was quickly regained as he noticed something laying on the floor. It was a trail of colorful wooden pieces. "What in Odin's beard..."

Skullcrusher sniffed them and soon went completely wild. He ran after the trail and Stoick and Valka had no more time to scratch their heads about it. As the two parents followed, the trail soon lead out towards an exit, and when they arrived outside the first thing that they saw after the blinding sun died down was Hiccup fighting against Johann.

Sword clanged against daggers.

Aiden was laying on the rocks, trying to crawl away from the fight, and Valka didn't hesitate one bit to go after him. She knew he was scared, but she also knew that Johann might use him against Hiccup if he noticed.

Johann's senses perked up as he noticed and he immediately pushed Hiccup away with a stronger blow. He reached for Aiden's arm and grabbed him, but Stoick was already at his side and bashing his head in with his fist. The trader was sent flying back, giving up his grip out of surprise.

"Aiden!" Hiccup yelled and reached for his son right away. He pulled him out of the fight and held him close while the boy sobbed and clutched onto his father. "Shh, shh...You're okay," he assured him with a smile and looked up at his mother. He nodded silently at her and the woman jumped forward to assist the chief.

"Pa-papa, he hurt mama!" Aiden whimpered and hugged onto him, never wanting to let go.

Hiccup nodded and dropped the sword to hold him in both his arms. "I know, I know," He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "But you're okay. You're our smart little boy," he smiled, and Aiden pulled back to look at him. Hiccup moved his hand to his necklace that was nothing but a rope now. "Our clever little boy..."

Aiden sniffed with a small smile. He hugged his father again.

While the two reunited and Hiccup soothed his boy, Stoick and Valka continued to fight the skilled trader. While Valka looked like she was only there for support and to knock him out, Stoick was more than ready to end his life right then and there.

"I wouldn't take you for being the person who had the _balls_ to kidnap my grandchild," Stoick growled with his next blow. Johann jumped back and received a hit in his legs by Valka that made him trip over. Stoick reached down to grab him, but Johann responded right away by slicing for his hand with his dagger.

"I guess you should start _respecting_ my stories, _Stoick_ ," Johann hissed back at him and grabbed Valka's staff at the same time as he rolled away. He pushed it back against her and Valka stumbled back with a painful yelp.

The move only angered the chief even more and by then he didn't care whether he was armed, and he wasn't.

 _He was going to end him._

"Maybe then you would have seen it coming," Johann said and stumbled back up on his legs. "But you were always so rude to cut me off, just like that time at the-

Valka quickly went back into the fight and whenever Stoick wasn't trying to attack, she struck a blow at him with her staff. She also assisted him in blocking attacks by lending him her shield every now and then. The two were magnificent together; they were dancing the fight through with their elegant moves.

"You dared to make me believe you were friendly," Stoick said angrily and ran at him. "You made me allow you free passage to Berk without any controls," he continued and knocked the dagger out of his hand when he tried to stab him. His hands were bleeding from the previous attacks, but he didn't care.

Johann used his other dagger to slice for him in an attempt of keeping distance. "Did you think of me as your _friend_ , Stoick?" Johann had to laugh. "Is that why you are so angered?"

Stoick hissed even more and pretended to attack him from his left, but Johann saw through his lies and responded to his attack on the right. He stabbed his dagger in his arm, piercing through the wristbands.

"Stoick!" Valka yelled and jumped forward. She smacked Johann's hand hard enough for it to crack and let go of the dagger. While the chief stumbled back, she took his place against the now unarmed man.

She was quick to continue her fight, not giving the man a single moment of peace. Her staff swung under his ribs and quickly rotated around in her hands to strike his other side with the opposite end. Thanks to the tags on her staff, she was able to make a small cut along his side, but the man wasn't startled as she had imagined him to be.

"I'm impressed," Johann hissed and blocked the next blow with his good hand. He pulled at it again, but Valka expected it and positioned her legs to keep her balance. She tried to use her power to flip him over, but the man's grip was too sturdy. "Your wife may be a better fighter than you, Stoick."

"It runs in the family," Stoick grunted and went after him again when Valka had made an opening for him. He reached for his head; ready to crack it in his palm when he caught it, but his hopes were crushed when the man dodged his attack and moved a good distance from the duo.

"It was foolish of you," Johann said and held his hand to his chest. He looked around himself for a moment to see his backup had arrived, and so did Valka. "I'm merely a business man, _chief_. There's nothing else to it, now I advise you to back off or a certain young Shield Maiden will have her throat slit."

Hiccup watched them anxiously. He ran to his father's side and Valka sensed his distress almost right away and therefore backed down.

Valka slowly lowered her staff while Johann rose his good hand to the archers. "Stand down," he said and smirked at the three. "And I will make you a proposal."

The three looked at each other; it was all too familiar; it was all too common what the enemy was after. If it wasn't the dragons, it was-

 _"Master Hiccup_ ," Johann said and eyed Hiccup. "For Astrid Hofferson."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed. He held Aiden closer until Stoick stepped forward, his arm clutching his wounded.

"No way in Hel," Stoick growled and Johann laughed. "We're not giving up our son for anything-

"Does it look like you are in a position to make the offers here?" Johann said and motioned around them. "There are 20 archers here, carrying _poisonous_ arrows," he said and looked over his shoulder for a moment as two dragon hunters landed their dragons behind him for support. His eyes then went back to Stoick's furious gaze.

"How do we know you're not lying?" Hiccup glared at him. "That Astrid isn't with you or that you already...already took care of that," he said, swallowing thickly. He couldn't imagine it happening because of him. He wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Johann smirked. " _As I said_ ," he repeated. "I'm a business man. Trades are what I'm known of and I believe it is a fair trade. You have your son back and now all that's left is your wife."

Hiccup pursed his lips and looked down at Aiden for a moment. He was about to set him down when the familiar sound of a Night Fury echoed in the air and their friends came up from the quarry with their dragons, ready to continue the fight.

The archers immediately targeted the enemy both on ground level and in the sky. When Stoick ripped the dagger out of his arm, Johann immediately backed off and the two dragon riders stepped forward to protect him from his attack.

"I recommend that you think about it, _Master Hiccup_!" The trader yelled and whistled for his own dragon. Two hunters ran over to him while pulling roughly at his beast. "I give you until sunset!" His voice echoed as he flew away, and the fight continued between the ones who were left behind.

Hiccup looked after him for a moment before he covered Aiden with his hand and made his way towards Toothless. He picked up the sword again. "Don't move," he told his son and held him tighter. Then he started to run through the wildfire.

There were soldiers everywhere – some attempting to retreat while most hunters fought to take down the enemy. After all, the Berkians were outnumbered by both men and dragons. But it didn't go as easily as the Dragon Hunters had thought. The enemy was stronger and smarter and after a while more soldiers were tempted to leave.

Hiccup rode on Toothless' back further up in the air in attempt to get away from the fight and out of harm's reach. He wasn't planning on letting anyone fall here – their quest was almost complete: Aiden was safely in his arms and all they had to do now was get Astrid back and take down the enemy. That was their focus.

"Toothless," Hiccup said and laid his hand on his head. "Call them back."

Toothless cooed and looked up at him for a moment before he turned mid-air to face the island behind them. He flapped his wings to keep them up and soon let out a loud roar.

The dragons below them looked towards him – both enemy and ally, but no one seemed to react. Toothless grunted and tried again, but it ended up with the same outcome.

"What's going on bud?" Hiccup asked confused and watched them. If it wasn't for his recognizable roar, his friends wouldn't have reacted either, but Hiccup was grateful for the fact that they understood his dragon's distress and did their best to regroup with him.

Toothless growled deeply and looked over the island for a moment. His eyes soon went towards the ships that were undocking from the island.

When Hiccup followed his gaze, he soon realized that they were fleeing.

 _And they were fleeing with Astrid in their grips._

Hiccup was about to order Toothless to fly towards them, but Valka stopped him with her staff. He looked up at her slightly infuriated. "I have to go after them-

Valka's eyes were filled with sympathy. She moved Cloudjumper closer and jumped onto Toothless' back, landing behind her son. Her hand rested on his shoulder. "Not with Aiden," she whispered and held her arms out for him.

Hiccup eyed her for a moment before he kissed Aiden's head and handed him to her. The little boy whimpered and cried in protest. "Papa!" he whimpered and tried to reach for him.

Hiccup smiled sadly and cupped his cheek. "I'll be back later, okay? I need to go find your mother."

Aiden kept whimpering as Valka moved back onto her Stormcutter and held him secured there in her arms.

Stoick moved his dragon closer. "You shouldn't go. This is exactly what Johann wants. We can find another way!"

"Chief is right," Snotlout said worriedly and looked after the ships as they were sailing away quickly. "We can shadow them – make sure that they don't disappear again-

"No," Hiccup shook his head and held onto the handles of Toothless' saddle. He looked around him at his friends and family. "It's a trade – me for Astrid. She's injured and I won't let her stay in their hands for another moment if I can do something for her."

"But we still need to come with you, son," Stoick said a bit harshly. "If they turn against you-

"Then you'll have my back," Hiccup nodded with a small smile. "I'll be fine. Stay a good distance, but close enough in case it goes south. I have to try," he said and steered Toothless to the side. "Let's go bud."

Toothless growled hesitantly, but did as he said. He flapped his wings faster and flew them towards the fleet. When Hiccup looked over his shoulder, he felt as though his heart was going to break. His son had been through more than he could possibly imagine and yet again he was leaving him alone. The only thought that settled him was that the trade would go well and he would be with his mother again, safe and sound.

When they approached the ship, Hiccup pulled back a bit on the saddle to slow him down. They soared above the sails and looked below them, taking in the sight of Johann's armada. It seemed as though the ships were being pulled by dragons – Seashockers to be precise. If they had decided to regroup and reconsider everything, Johann would have been long gone.

"Take us down," Hiccup said and motioned to the biggest ship at the front. Toothless cooed worriedly, but dove down towards it. The soldiers below made room for them and just as they did, Johann and Viggo walked out.

Hiccup cursed silently for not bringing a weapon. He slowly sat up in the saddle and looked around for a moment, analyzing the threat. His eyes went back again to the trader and he almost growled out.

"Where is she?" He asked, trying to seem calm.

Johann looked over at the bulky man standing beside him and nodded at him. He then stepped forward. "You've made a wise choice, Hiccup," he said with a small smile. "Making such a quick decision is impressive."

"I would have preferred to look over it again, if I could," Hiccup admitted. Toothless growled even more at every step the trader took towards them. "But there wasn't any time, as you could guess," he said and motioned to the water below them. "Seashockers, huh?"

"Aren't they magnificent?" Johann hummed proudly as if he had done everything; planned it, caught them, _trained_ them.

"Indeed," Hiccup nodded and looked up at the sky for a moment to see his friends watching closely – they were ready to attack at any moment and Hiccup was relieved of that. "It's a shame you have to take advantage of them like this."

"Well, we can both agree that I am not the only one _using_ dragons to afford a living," Johann laughed and turned slightly as Ryker returned with Astrid.

Toothless' growl went louder as the man pushed her out with a spear. He charged a blast, but Hiccup stopped him right away. "Not now," he said calmly and slowly slid down from his saddle.

Astrid looked at him, the question screaming from her eyes as they got closer to each other. Ryker pushed her forward, knocking her over on her knees and if it hadn't been for the cloth in her mouth she would have definitely made a more noticeable sound from the pain in her leg.

Hiccup glared at Ryker, silently wondering why he had stopped Toothless. He stepped forward with caution and slowly took Astrid in his arms. "Shh..." He hummed with a small smile and took the cloth out. Astrid shook her head violently.

"Don't give yourself up-they need you for-

"Tie him up!" Johann roared at his men and they went towards him and Toothless right away. Hiccup hurried to undo her ropes and moved her towards Stormfly as they brought her up towards the docks.

"Go," Hiccup urged her. "Aiden is with the others," he smiled at her just as they pushed him down against the wooden planks. They tied him up roughly with ropes and Astrid had no other choice but to follow his orders as Stormfly grabbed her by her hoodie and flew off.

Hiccup sighed relieved and finally stopped struggling against their hands. Astrid was finally safe – she was free from the enemy. The thought made him smile. Now, his only mission was to get out of here himself so they could plan a finishing attack. If they could do that, _he_ would be free.

 _He would pass his trials._

"Get him below deck," Johann ordered Ryker and eyed Viggo. "And keep an eye on your _brother_. I won't have the same mistake happen again."

Ryker glared at Viggo for a moment before he nodded and grabbed the scrawny Viking. He pushed him towards the stairs while Toothless was shoved down after them. Hiccup had to look over his shoulder every now and then to make sure he stayed calm. They couldn't offer any mistakes either or the worst case scenario was an early death.

 _For them both._

"You know," Ryker started and shoved him into his cell. Hiccup grunted and Toothless growled through the muzzle. "Love has...always been a problem for fighters. It brings up a horrible distraction and yet at the same time it creates an opportunity of a happy life."

"He doesn't exactly look like a fighter, now does he, brother?" Viggo spat at him and watched as they pushed Toothless into another fire proof cage. "He's not dumb, unlike someone else in this room."

Ryker hissed and turned to him, laying his hand on the handle of his sword. "Are you saying that I'm _dumb_?"

Viggo rolled his eyes. "No, I'm calling you incomprehensible."

Ryker stared at him for a moment before he slammed Hiccup's cage door shut and locked it. He eyed the prisoners one more time before he went upstairs. "I'm not dumb..." he muttered as he walked away.

"Not the sharpest in the row, huh?" Hiccup almost spat and sat down against the cage door. "I thought your brother was _dead_."

"He might as well be," Viggo said truthfully, not caring if anyone heard him or not. He leaned back against one of the beams that supported the floor above them and crossed his arms. "The story doesn't change. He's still hungry for leadership. If I'm lucky, he might to the dirty work for me."

"And what dirty work would that be?" Hiccup asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Killing Johann?"

Viggo chuckled. "Clever boy."

"And what will you get out of it?" Hiccup glared at him. Even though Johann had turned against them, he didn't wish for it to end in death. "Aside from leadership? The hunters would turn against you-

"Now that's where you turn a bit arrogant, Hiccup," Viggo chuckled and shook his head. Hiccup stared at him. "Around these waters, _respect_ doesn't matter – loyalty doesn't matter," he said as he walked towards his cell. "It's fear that counts."

Toothless hissed even more and tried to break out of his cage.

"Johann is about to do something very reckless," Viggo said and slowly took a whip down from the wall. Hiccup sat up a bit straighter and glared at the weapon. It gave away that he obviously had a horrible past with it. The idea made Viggo smirk. "And knowing you, you would do your very best to stop it."

"I don't even know what you're referring to," Hiccup said, trying to stay calm and brave. He was trying to focus his mind on the fact that his child and soulmate was safe and away from the Viking before him, but it only settled his mind so much.

"Oh, you'll know soon enough," Viggo hummed and held out the whip as footsteps made the stairs creak behind him. Ryker stepped up beside him and grabbed it. "Show him what will happen if he goes against us when we're in control, _Brother_."

Hiccup's eyes widened as the man stepped into his cage. He looked at Viggo with a small plead, but only caught his evil stare towards Ryker before the first hit came down.

Hiccup bit his bottom lip as tight as he could. Memories flashed through his head and whenever he opened his eyes again to look up, Alvin's figure stood in the corner of his eye; his evil laughter echoing through his head. He tried to close his eyes, but whenever he did, he was reminded of his father back when he was a child; the moments that he would come home drunk after a long day of chiefing and decided to put his pain out on him. But one thing that the experience also reminded him of was who he was fighting for.

He was fighting for Berk; the berk that had changed over the years because _he_ changed it. He was fighting for his family; the family he had created through happy accidents. He was fighting for his friends; his dorky friends that went over mountains and down valleys to get his mood back together. But most importantly; he was fighting for his future _with_ them.

And the only way he knew how to continue fighting was repeating that over and over again in his head, because it made him look stronger and prouder of who he was; who he had become. If there was one thing he had learned from being tortured, it was that the biggest fear of his tormentor was the _bravery_ of the victim.

 _And bravery was exactly what he would use to defeat them._


	22. Chapter 22

_"Set me down, Stormfly!"_

Astrid trashed around in her claws, but her dragon only answered by throwing her further up and grabbing her by her shoulders so she wouldn't be able to rip out of her hoodie. Stormfly squawked at her, the dragon's pupils being narrower than normal.

Astrid cursed under her breath for Toothless using his alpha ability on her and gave up fighting. She looked below her, tears forming in her eyes as she saw Hiccup getting pushed below deck and out of sight. She couldn't begin to imagine what would happen to him – what they would do against him. They were new enemies – enemies that weren't and had never been particularly friendly to dragons. And if they forced him to train that dragon...

Astrid wiped away her tears as Stormfly brought her up towards the others. She was swiftly set down on Cloudjumper's back so that Valka could tend to her obvious injury.

Snotlout took out his bludgeon angrily as he spotted all the blood. "I'm going to murder them for that!"

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Heather said relieved, steering her dragon over. She moved onto Cloudjumper so she could assist Valka.

Stoick moved his Rumblehorn over to them worriedly. Aiden was now safely in his arm, reaching out for his mother scared. "Are you alright?" He sighed.

Astrid nodded slightly, hissing through gritted teeth as Valka removed the poor bandages. "I'm alright-but we have to get to Hiccup," she shook her head slightly. "I don't know what they want from him, but they've been planning this all along!"

"You mean they were the ones who brought him...?" Fishlegs squeaked.

The twins slowly looked at each other at that. They fist-bumped the air. "Loki!"

Stoick grumbled at them and looked down at the ships below them as they continued to drift away with the wind. He shook his head. "We have to return to Berk. Aiden is safer there and so are you-

"No!" Astrid almost roared at him. She gripped her leg tightly. "Have you forgotten? What Alvin did to him? What people will do to get the information?!"

"Of course, I haven't!" Stoick said sternly, feeling his heart sting. His face soon paled. "But...Wait. Does that mean Alvin has returned?"

Astrid sighed and shook her head again. "No-At least I don't think so," she said, laying her other hand against her forehead. She accepted the squirming child into her arms when he almost threatened to jump for it, and continued; "I don't understand it at all. A guy named Ryker came inside – he seemed to be his assistant too. His general."

Eret slowly narrowed his eyes. He held tighter onto the saddle, not expecting anyone to notice him. The blacksmith eyed him. "Got anything to add, lad?" Gobber questioned him and all attention went from the injured shield-maiden to him.

Eret hesitated, but nodded. "I knew I recognized Viggo from somewhere," he said. "I had met his brother years before Drago started to have his private conversations with the man. Ryker was never let in on them – he was too short minded. He didn't plan and he wasn't known for having control on his temper."

Astrid looked at him. "Ryker is his brother? But he said that he killed-

"It must have been a cover up," Eret shook his head. "They have never been on a good foot with each other, but they certainly stayed together no matter what. They both have a desire for power of the weak-

"Much like Drago," Valka muttered and continued to clean Astrid's wound.

Eret nodded. "Much like him. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned against each other. They depend on one another more than they realize; Ryker has the strength and the armada, but he needs Viggo for everything else; planning, organizing-everything he can't do. But with Johann still at the top...things can go south pretty fast for them."

Stoick nodded slowly, taking in the conversation. He looked down at the ships every now and then, taking in the fact that they were moving away the more they talked. But he didn't have a choice – he couldn't risk Hiccup's life. He knew he had a plan – he always did even if he didn't show any signs of it.

"What did Ryker say, lass?" Stoick asked, turning his attention back to Astrid.

"He...he came in with a body," Astrid sighed and held Aiden closer in a protective manner. "I thought it was Alvin-but it was fresh. The blood, the skin...They called him a-a wizard of some sort. That had failed to bring Alvin back to life. Johann tried to cover up the fact that _he_ hadn't been the one to do it, but I don't think that was what he meant. I don't think he stood behind it at all – Hiccup's return. There's something else going on and I can't wrap my head around it."

Stoick eyed his wife as Astrid spoke, knowing fully well what she was referring to. They hadn't told anyone about Hiccup's dreams – his confrontation with Óðinn. It was mostly to make sure the information was restricted, but knowing fully well that they were around trusted people he had to make a decision that would help them ahead – help them get closer to rescuing their son.

"Hiccup came to us," Stoick said, still looking at Valka. Her gaze had by now fallen back to the wound, but she was still listening to everything happening around her. "One night after a meeting. He told us he had a dream that was more or less a conversation."

Astrid looked at him confused. "A conversation? With who? Viggo?"

Stoick shook his head.

 _"Óðinn."_

Silence filled the air. The only thing they could hear was the wind roaring and the wings of their dragons beating against it.

 _"Óðinn,"_ Snotlout repeated to be sure he had heard right.

Stoick nodded, confirming what he had said. The teens looked between another – even Gobber looked surprise. The blacksmith slowly took off his helmet and held it at his chest. "What a life that lad has lived..." he said in sorrow.

Stoick took a deep breath and looked below them again. The armada had by now reached the foggy line of the horizon – about to get out of their sight. Even though they held a steady direction, it would be close to impossible to track them down again. They could change direction the moment they knew they weren't followed.

"Chief," Eret said, snapping his attention back to the Vikings awaiting his order. He had sensed his discomfort, and he knew not to question it with the past events that had unfolded still in the back of their minds. "What's your decision? We're losing them."

Stoick sighed and straightened up in his seat. He eyed Astrid before he looked around him, seeing each and every one of them in their eyes. "We'll return to Mala. Astrid needs the proper care and we can't bring ourselves or Aiden into this mess unprepared," he hesitated. "My son...He'll hold on a bit longer. He has a plan, and I choose to respect that."

Astrid looked after the ships, feeling her eyes sting again. She closed her eyes and turned her head away. Aiden buried his face in his chest as he still wept – in both fear and sorrow. Fear for their lives and sadness for being apart from his father whom he had recently been reunited with.

As Astrid felt them start moving, she suddenly remembered. The Dragon Eye. There was still a chance that Johann had left it behind. "Chief!" She said, breaking out of her thoughts. She looked up at him urgently, and said man stopped his dragon straight away. "We can't leave. There's still something on that island that could help us find them."

Stoick read her expression. He looked over the dragon riders and nodded faintly. "Tell me everything you know about it."

 _"And don't even think of leaving out a detail."_

"And you're certain it's in here?" Stoick asked as he started to search around in the piles of treasure. Snotlout was already deeply distracted by all the gold and rare objects he could gather in his meaty hands.

Eret and Heather were standing outside to hold guard – although most of the hunters had either left with the ships or been knocked out already. The twins and Fishlegs on the other hand had received a strict order by Astrid and the chief to take Aiden to cover, and since Mala's island was the closest, they were taking shelter there and updating their ally on the situation.

Astrid had been very clear that she wanted to stay behind – mostly because she didn't trust them to take as little time as they would with her, to search for the Dragon Eye. Her injury didn't stop, but Aiden's cries and Stoick's orders almost managed to give her a ride back to Mala's island as well. She was grateful that the chief eventually understood why she had to search. Hiccup would have done it and so would the rest – since it was in the Hunter's hands it didn't mean anything good for the dragons and therefore no good for themselves either.

Astrid nodded, supporting herself on Valka to keep the pressure off her injured leg. "He wasn't very discreet about the whole thing, and there's a chance he forgot to bring it. He is Johann after all," She said and looked around, trying to remember where he had picked it up from. She limped forward, Valka following her to support, and moved aside some of the half empty chests.

"Lass, has a point, chief," Gobber snorted and moved away the chests one by one and checking the contents as he did. "Remember that time he forgot to bring the village the cabbage seeds after Mildew disappeared?" He laughed. "Or when he forgot to bring Gothi her herbs-he sure earned more wacks than I did-oh!" He suddenly stopped and held up a chest in tears. "It is marvelous..."

"Did you find it?" Stoick asked and hurried over to him right away. Before Gobber could say anything more even in his dazed state, he took it out of his arms and opened the chest urgently. All eyes were on the chief, but the hope disappeared as his shoulders fell. "I swear to Thor's beard, Gobber..." he muttered and slammed it against the Black Smith's chest. Said man hugged it happily and soon pulled out a golden comb.

"I can finally switch out me collection!" Gobber laughed happily and used his real hand to brush his dirty mustache. The others groaned and went back to searching. "I should definitely make this into a prosthetic..." he murmured around.

Astrid sighed and pushed away the chests annoyed. "It has to be here somewhere."

"He could have brought it with him," Valka sighed and watched her sadly. "The trader seems to have kept quite the well cover all these years."

"I'd be damned if he gets to win it all," Stoick muttered and grabbed a chest. "He already took my future daughter-in-law, our grandchild and now he has our son in captive. He's not getting away with anything else-

"That's it!" Astrid's eyes lit up and she limped over to Stoick before he threw the chest away. She took it out of his hands and laid it on Johann's desk. "Come on..." she muttered as she tried to open it, but it did nothing. It was locked.

"Step aside, young lady~" Snotlout hummed and raised his maze above his head. "I'll show you how you open that-

Astrid's eyes widened. "No don't-

Snotlout already dropped the maze down, but the force of three Nadder spikes immediately blew it out of his hands and barely missed Gobber's head as he held a mirror up in front of him. "Gah!" He said in horror as he stared at his bald head.

"Hey!" Snotlout grumbled and looked over at her.

Astrid glared back at him and didn't hold back a small smack up against his forehead. It almost threw his helmet off as well. "Is this a joke to you?" She almost yelled, and Snotlout suddenly realized how serious she was. He stepped backwards as she limped forward.

"I-I-

"Yeah, I thought so," Astrid said with a harder glare before she finally turned back to the chest. She lifted it up and gently shook it. "There's definitely something inside it," she said and looked up at Gobber, but decided it was no use to ask the now delusional Viking. Neither of them had slept too well the last few days, so it was surprising no one had turned crazy yet.

Instead, she limped towards the opening of the tent. "Thank you, girl," She smiled at Stormfly and rubbed the happily squawking dragon as she passed by. "Do either of you know how to pick a lock?"

Heather and Eret both turned to her. They shared a small look before it suddenly turned challenging. "Yes I do," they both said in unison. Heather laughed and ran inside before Eret could.

Astrid soon smiled as she realized. "You two, huh?" She laughed faintly at Eret before she followed her friend back inside, leaving the Viking stunned with his own red cheeks.

Heather was quick to use her knife to pry it open. She tried to pick the lock and lift the chest by carving it between the cracks, but nothing seemed to work. It was completely stuck.

Eret walked up to her, his chest puffed out proudly. "Let me show you how it is done~" He hummed, and Heather moved aside with a small huff. He leaned down and took out two small metal pieces from inside his furry coat. He started to pick up the lock and in a matter of seconds they heard a click.

"Impressive," Astrid smiled and stepped forward. She slowly opened the chest, and there it was; the Dragon Eye. It was piled onto a stack of gold – which Astrid assumed was to make it seem no different from the others in weight. She would have first started with the design at least.

Slowly, Astrid lifted the Dragon Eye out of the box. She wasn't sure how long it had been in there which made her afraid she might break it. Before the curious Jorgenson could pull it out of her hands, she turned her shoulder to him and started to pick on it in hope for it to start glowing as it had with Johann.

Stoick eyed the object in her hands carefully from a distance. It looked familiar in a way, but he couldn't collect his thoughts to find out why.

"What is it exactly?" Heather asked curiously.

"I'm not sure...Johann made it into a torch, but I was dragged off before I-he used a terrible terror..." Astrid whispered upon realization. "That must have been what made it work..." she said and looked at the glass at the very end.

"On it," Valka said and hurried out right away to search for one.

"I'm sure there's something hidden inside-" She stopped as it clicked and something fell out and down to the ground. It was a five edged piece of glass. The frame of it was made out of wood.

Stoick's eyes soon went wide as he realized. "Wait," he said and jogged up to Skullcrusher's saddle bag. He pulled out an identical piece and returned it to him, but by then there were already three pieces.

"I found it when I was searching for new dragons," Heather said, holding a lens in her hand. Stoick held out his as well.

"This was on Alvin's body," He said and handed it to her. Astrid gently took them and picked up the one that had fallen on the floor. "Maybe they can be used together..." she whispered and put the first one back where it was earlier. She then placed the others behind it in the holder and made sure they were in place.

Valka soon came back with a terrible terror in her hands. It was almost passed out because of her petting gestures. "What do we do next?"

Astrid sighed and looked at the device to try and remember. "He was making it glow..." She said slowly and looked around on it much more careful than before, so the lenses didn't pop out.

"Maybe the fire?" Valka asked and went forward with the dragon. She took the Dragon Eye out of her hands and set it on the desk. Then she rubbed the dragon's side slightly, but without much of her touch the dragon already understood its task. It opened its mouth and made a light yellow and orange burn in his mouth.

It didn't take long before the Dragon Eye responded to the glow and it shot out a light of its own. The display was in three different colors – yellow, red and purple.

"It...it's a map," Astrid whispered as she stared at it in awe.

"Of different dragons!" Valka exclaimed.

Stoick stayed quiet as he watched it. Even Gobber and the others had fallen silent at the sight, unsure of how to process what was projected before them.

Astrid limped up to the map on the wall, moving her fingers across the different islands. She was fascinated of how the light danced upon her skin that she almost forgot what was going on. Luckily, Stoick brought her out of her thoughts.

The chief took the Dragon Eye and the dragon right away went back to pleading for more of Valka's rubs. He removed the lenses he and Heather had found and placed it down on the desk. A little rougher than he intended, he grabbed the terrible terror and held it before the Dragon Eye once again.

The terrible terror whined, but shortly after obeyed. When the fire reappeared, it showed a completely different map. A map in a bright yellow color. "Did Johann do anything with the Dragon Eye, lass?"

Astrid shook her head faintly and pulled back to see the whole map at once. "Not that I could see. Do you think this is where they are taking Hiccup?" She whispered, staring at the huge dragon figure in the middle. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Behind it was the shape of an island – a very familiar island.

"In Odin's beard..." Gobber whispered in realization.

The dragon was outlining the whole island Heather had led them to first. It made the mountain inhabited by caves look smaller and thinner, but it surely made out the large hill tops and all the trees. Around the dragon itself were many different species of dragons.

To confirm their believes, Heather pulled out her notebook and laid it down beside the dragon eye. She flipped over to the pages where she had drawn the dragons she had discovered in the area, and surely enough they were identical. It made one thing clear;

 _The island was a nest._

 _And the Alpha was the island itself._

 _"I can't take this anymore!"_

Tuffnut cried helplessly as he tried to cover his ears from Aiden's high pitched crying. He grabbed his sister's helmet and used the horns of it and the ones of his own as earplugs. "It cries louder than our uncle ben!

"Yeah!" Ruffnut called over the noise and tried to use Barf and Belch's horn as earplugs instead. "And he cries _loudly_!" The two headed dragon looked at each other as their heads were squeezed together and a pointless fight between the twins' helmets erupted.

Fishlegs whimpered and kept trying to rock Aiden back and forth like a little baby. It was safe to say that despite Aiden calling them all uncles, they were _terrible_ baby sitters. "I can't! He won't fall asleep to my lullaby!" He whimpered and kept trying to sing again. "Oh, I've got my Meat and I've got my Lug-

"I've never been more tempted to stuff my ears more than a yak on Snoggletog!" Tuffnut whined and kept holding the helmets at his ears.

"He's making his ears bleed!" Ruffnut said as he saw blood drip down from Tuffnut's ears.

"Was that blood I heard?" Tuffnut perked up and looked at his hand as it dripped down. The two looked at each other with wide eyes. "PUSH IT HARDER!" He called to Ruffnut who suddenly grinned.

"Come here-oof!" Ruffnut whined as Barf and Belch spun around in a circle to split up from one another and get them apart. The helmets dropped down to their jaws and the dragon held it tightly in their mouths, clearly showing that the only well _educated_ baby sitter was them.

Aiden kept whimpering and sobbing. Over and over again he would try to crawl out of Fishlegs' arms and up to his shoulder so he could use his imagination to return to his parents, but every time the Viking pulled him down again and apologized every time. The little lad wasn't even paying attention to his songs and by the time the island had gone completely out of sight his cries only got louder.

"It's okay little one!" Fishlegs whimpered. It didn't help that he was panicking and the loud noises coming from the arguing twins didn't calm the situation either.

"Mama!" Aiden sobbed and tried to crawl out of his arms again. He managed to get down on the saddle and was about to crawl off Meatlug's tail when the dragon bounced him up in the air with it and safely back in the Viking's arms.

"Thank you, girl!" Fishlegs whimpered and held the boy closer. "I promised Astrid I wouldn't let you out of my sight!"

"B-but...mama...papa..." Aiden barely managed to get out between his small sobs. He looked into Fishlegs' eyes. Just by looking at the little child – realizing how sad he was and _why_ he was sad. It made it too hard for Fishlegs to collect himself. Before he knew it, his cheeks were supporting a waterfall of tears.

"Why do you have to make me so sad too?" Fishlegs sobbed and hugged him so he could cry on his small shoulder. Meatlug whimpered as well. She cooed to try and comfort them both, but the moment was heartbreaking for her as well. The only one left with their sanity was with Barf and Belch, but they could only do so much.

Hours seemed to pass and the sun was settling down on the horizon when Fishlegs realized in between his tears that they were just above Mala's island. If it hadn't been for Meatlug, they would have been shot out of the sky the next second.

Fishlegs sniffed and held the now exhausted, but still awake, Aiden in his arms. He steered Meatlug down towards the plaza where Mala was waiting patiently for an update. Her worry seemed to only first be expressed when she saw Fishlegs' state.

"What happened?" Mala asked as she hurried up to them, fearing the worst for her new allies and friends. "Did someone-"

"He's so _saaad_!" Fishlegs sobbed even more and showed Aiden to the Chieftess while sharing the same look to her.

Mala's eyes widened slightly. She sighed sadly and gently took the little child into her arms. "Hey you..." She whispered and gently wiped his eyes. Because of her similar softness and features to his mother, he quickly settled into her comfort and finally let himself cry his heart out. The soldiers around them bowed their heads in sorrow, expecting the worst had happened to the child's parents.

When Aiden had finally calmed down enough to speak, he whispered; "W-will momma and papa come-come too?" His eyes were red and puffy and there were still tears threatening to fall.

Mala smiled sadly and gently stroked his hair. "I'm sure they will return. They would never be able to leave such an adorable little lad like you!" She smiled and pinched his cheek gently. Aiden giggled tiredly at that and rested his head against her chest. He then looked up at the sky together with her; both expecting them to land any moment – safe and sound. But when they didn't, Throk moved up to Fishlegs to lend him a shoulder.

Throk gently patted Fishlegs' shoulder while Meatlug rubbed against his other side. "How about we settle down with some tea and then talk about it?" He suggested.

Fishlegs cried even more, but eventually nodded. The two walked with the Chieftess towards her house while the twins happily fled the scene to avoid listening to the two cry themselves asleep.

Mala opened the door for them and shortly followed when they were inside. After Fishlegs had settled down by the fire, Throk took that as his opportunity to make some calming tea. "What may I make for you, my queen?" He bowed slightly.

"Make it a double," Mala said as she watched the little child in her arms. Aiden had finally settled a bit and there seemed to be no more room for tears, but only rest. Even so, she kept watching his face and taking in every detail. There weren't a lot of children in their town, and she definitely hadn't been this close to one in so long. Just holding one in her arms felt...relieving. Like she had nothing else to worry about in her life – she didn't feel like she had to do tasks for the village nor set up more defenses for a potential war. Everything was peaceful... Except for-

"Buaah!" Fishlegs sobbed into his hands as he had dared to look over at the little boy again, only to remember the face he was met by earlier.

Mala sat up a bit straighter and kept holding him to her chest. Then she finally lifted her eyes to the Viking. "Explain. And don't think about leaving out a single detail."

Fishlegs sobbed and looked up at her, his shoulders wrenched forward. He sniffed and tried to wipe his eyes. "He-he went and then she-she returned, and he-he got so sad!" He sobbed again and collapsed with his face in his own hands.

Mala sighed and leaned her head back. Throk soon returned with their tea and when he sat it down by her, he whispered, "My Queen. With all due respect, I believe we should give him some time to adapt. He might have been through a lot more than we can imagine."

"They can't be gone," Mala shook her head in disbelief and kept watching the Viking, hoping he would crack together under her stare and describe everything, but he didn't. Eventually, she sighed and looked up at Throk. "Find his friends. They should be able to explain everything."

Throk nodded and straightened up again. "I shall be back," he said and hurried outside.

Mala gently rocked Aiden back and forth and when she was sure that no one was near, she started to hum a soft lullaby. It seemed to have the opposite affect of what she expected – while the lullaby was mainly meant for Aiden, he seemed almost immune to the soft humming unlike Fishlegs who fell asleep in an instant.

"Little one..." Mala said softly as she finally stopped. The child was looking up at her with troubled, sad eyes, but no questions were leaving his lips. He was silent the whole time, his lips quivering as if the hardest thing in the world was to hold back more tears. "What has you so troubled?"

Aiden sniffed and hugged himself slightly. He finally looked away from her and around to recognize where he was – but he couldn't recognize it. The only familiar face was the sleeping Viking who he could tell was too out of it to help him.

Mala followed his gaze wherever it went; up the railing, up to the wooden ceiling, down at the fire and so on. It didn't take her long before she understood that he was insecure. She hadn't had the chance to introduce herself after all.

"Can you tell me your name?" Mala asked with a soft smile.

Aiden slowly, but shyly, looked up at her. He held his hands closer to his chest protectively. "I-I'm-I'm...I'm A-Aiden..." he whispered, his lips quivering even more. Mala sat up a bit more straight. She hadn't realized until now that it was the child they had been searching for all along. The thought had popped into her mind, but it was never clear until now.

"You must be the famous child they've been speaking of then," Mala smiled warmly. Aiden's eyes lit up slightly and he looked up at her again as if he had been praised.

"M-mama and Papa?" Aiden cooed quietly.

Mala nodded. "Your father, mostly. He was so worried about you and your mother when you disappeared," she said and slowly moved her fingers up to his messy hair. She played with it and Aiden watched her with the same curious eyes. "But he wasn't too worried when he realized you two were together," she smiled. "He knew you were brave enough to protect your mother."

This had Aiden giggle a bit. He wiggled in her lap up and down. "I-I pwotect mama fom-from big bad man!" he cooed and tried to gesture with his hands when he described the man.

Mala smiled and tapped his nose. "I'm sure you did! And I'm sure she is very proud of you too."

Aiden giggled at that, but his smile soon fell as he remembered. He whimpered up at her. "But-but big bad man hurt mama!" he tried to gesture with his leg where. Mala sighed and gently stroked his head. "But-but papa and-and grandma and grandpa and uncles came and saved us!" He cooed as he remembered the amazing fight that had gone by.

"Oh?" Mala looked at him hopefully. Did that mean that they were okay? But why did they only send some of their riders then?

Aiden nodded again. "B-but...I don't remember how mom went away...She was gone and then-then she came back but then papa was pooff!" Aiden whimpered and tried to gesture around with his hands as he explained. Mala nodded slowly the whole time, showing him that she was listening and clearly interested in what was being told. The boy soon looked up at her again. "Is-is papa here?" he asked hopefully.

Mala shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid he's not," she sighed and stayed silent for a moment. The first thing that popped into his mind was that a trade had happened between the two tribes. Their main priority was to rescue Aiden and his mother, but at what cost? With the desperate heir she had met, she could only imagine that he had improvised, and she had a feeling that it wouldn't hold for very long.

As the door opened again, she stood up from her chair. The little boy looked over to the door to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut walk inside cautiously.

"Did he stop yet-oh thank Thor!" Tuffnut whined relieved and finally dropped his protective posture.

Ruffnut sighed relieved as well. "I never thought it would stop-eh what happened to Fishlegs?" she tilted her head.

"Never mind that. We have something more important to address to," Mala said, her mother-like personality disappearing as she spoke to the two adults. Throk watched her from the door, ready to take any orders. But what came next, was something even he, as her right-handed man for the past 15 years, couldn't predict.

 _"I need you to teach us the way of taming dragons."_


	23. Chapter 23

_Soft coo._

Hiccup's hand slowly twitched.

 _Soft coo_.

His legs moved and tried to get a grip.

 _Soft coo._

His elbows moved slowly beneath his body.

 _Soft coo._

His body finally sat up and his head lifted weakly to meet the noise before him. His eyes were unfocused, but the lack of light made it easier for him to adjust. He carefully looked around. A single torch was lit up by the mast that poked through the deck. It cast a small light over at him and reflected in the cage he was trapped in. If it wasn't for the soft cooing beside him, he wouldn't have noticed the Night Fury was there.

 _Worried coo._

Slowly remembering what had happened, Hiccup pulled himself towards the bars. He fell against them with a painful groan and the worried coo came again.

"I-I'm alright...bud..." Hiccup panted. He slowly reached through the bars and Toothless accepted his touch right away by supporting his hand with his snout. The soft coo came again and as Hiccup opened his eyes to look into his, he read a much more painful set of eyes than he was sure he could muster together himself in that moment.

The mighty Night Fury was leaned, more like pressed, up against the bars to stay as close to his friend as possible. His eyes were big and pupils round to show its empathy, but deep down one could see how heartbroken the creature truly was. Hiccup could only imagine what his best friend had seen as he had passed out along the way.

For the first time, he let his eyes fall to where the pain was radiating the most. His legs had suffered a few slashes, but it wasn't anything compared to his arms. The only part of him that had been truly protected from the whip was his chest and his back, but his hands that Hiccup had shielded his face with were covered in long and deep cuts. At the ends were burn marks from the leather slicing across his vulnerable skin and everything else was dried with blood. His sleeves shirt was holding together with a few strings, much like himself as he had a flashback to the time in Alvin's captivity.

But this wasn't the time to remember the past. If anything, this was the time to think ahead – create a plan. Find a way out of the mess before Johann could have any use of him for his plans. He had figured that much from Viggo's words and by the way his brother had held back. They needed him, which meant that leaving alive could be easier. But as he looked over at Toothless again, he realized it might not be the same for him. Did they need him because he was an alpha? Hiccup mentally shook his head. "That wouldn't make sense," he thought to himself. Johann was clever enough to know that sending two alphas against each other meant war - it was the nature of dominance.

"I-I'm sorry, buddy...I always bring you into trouble..." Hiccup whispered, closing his eyes. He gently rubbed his scales with the last bit of energy that rested in his fingertips. Toothless cooed worriedly and nudged his hand. He licked it faintly which made a small smile form on Hiccup's lips. "But you're always there with me," he whispered and opened his eyes again. He looked at his friend with a grateful smile and he responded with another soft coo and another small lick.

"W-we'll find a way out," Hiccup whispered and moved a bit closer to him although he knew it was useless. "One way or another."

Toothless cooed in agreement. He slowly slipped his tail into his cage and wrapped it around his rider protectively. Then he closed his eyes and enjoyed the small and gentle scratch. He first opened his eyes and snapped his head towards the stairs when it creaked. A deep growl escaped the dragon's throat.

Hiccup sat up a bit alert, but stopped shortly after. He had tried so hard to not show any weakness while they were torturing him, and he wasn't about to start now.

Johann slowly walked down, his hands folded behind his back. "I am deeply hurt for the greeting I receive," He hummed, eyeing the dragon for a moment. He slowly walked up to Hiccup.

"H-he doesn't take very easy on traitors," Hiccup said, glaring at the trader.

"Neither do you, I see," Johann smirked slightly and stopped a foot away. He eyed his injuries for a moment. "I take it this brings back some old memories?"

"Old memories of what?" Hiccup said, his stare hardening to stop the information his eyes were giving out.

Johann smiled and stepped closer. "I think you know what I'm referring to. And I am mentioning it to make this clear for you," he said, and his face turned serious. "I am nothing like Alvin."

Hiccup couldn't hold back a small laugh. "Alvin went against my father. You went against _our tribe_. And for what? To conquer all dragons? Is that what you have planned?"

Johann laughed. "Now that's where the difference comes. Alvin had plans about taming the dragons – use them as multiple war machines," he said and slowly folded his hands behind his back again. He walked back and forth in front of his cage as he continued. "We both may have betrayed the island of Berk, but we have two very different mindsets," he hummed. "Ahh, it brings me back to the days. When everyone was hunting dragons – the days where we would travel to Berk and compete with the best dragon hunters. I used to sell livestock that was fed to the beasts right before they were killed."

Toothless growled deeply. He wrapped his tail more protectively around Hiccup.

"Where I come from they called it the Olympics," Johann laughed. "Except that in my homelands there were humans fighting humans. The dragons brought such fierceness into the games and you could never imagine what glory one earned from winning the games."

The trader slowly came to a stop and sighed. "But then the news that Berk were in peace with dragons spread like wildfire. That a _child_ had defeated a dragon created by the Gods themselves. All pride disappeared in the archipelago."

Hiccup eyed him cautiously as he took out his dagger. The trader swirled it around in his fingers. "I travelled further away from Berk in that period, in search for a people who shared the same passion for murder and violence as your people once did."

"But let me guess," Hiccup said. "There was no one out there."

Johann laughed. "I thought so at first," he nodded. "But then I came across this great man – who had abused the new way of thinking in another way. He had bent the new rules and conquered island after island by _using_ dragons."

Hiccup tensed up as he spoke. He knew loud and clear who he was talking of. There was only one man, and that man was Drago Bludvist. Eret was right. They had been working together.

"I became his trader," Johann admitted. "But business was hard, and the only way to keep it going was by traveling back to my trusty islands in the archipelago," he said and continued before Hiccup could talk. "I know what you're thinking. Drago could have attacked Berk – he could have taken control a long time ago," he nodded. "And that's true. But I decided not to inform him about it. _I_ wanted to have the pleasure of taking the Archipelago myself."

"The stories about the Berkians were close to fairytales that far out and therefore Drago didn't see you as a threat," Johann hummed. "But then you came along...and we know how that battle ended."

Hiccup nodded faintly, his eyes never leaving the busy hand of the trader. He knew the trader didn't lack of experience when it came to culture and exploration, but he was starting to believe that the man had a bigger plan lurking around the corner. Johann wasn't like Viggo – he told him his plans straight forward, but with Viggo by his side he could only imagine there was so much he would reveal.

"What makes us _different_ ," Johann repeated to come back to his point about himself and Alvin. "Is that Alvin wanted to spend time and resources on creating an army of dragons. He wanted to take over Berk and get his revenge," he hummed. "But why waste time when you can find the biggest dragon in existence to do it for you?"

Hiccup tensed up even more. He looked over at Toothless who growled even more. They both knew what he meant. He was talking about controlling an alpha like Drago had.

"I know what you're thinking, Master Hiccup," Johann said and moved his dagger back in its holder. "You're thinking that I'm mimicking Drago."

Hiccup rolled his eyes faintly. "I was thinking more that you were a crazy man with too ambitious plans."

Johann laughed at that. "I'm not Drago Bludvist. I've learned a few tips and tricks from his leadership," he said and whistled. The stairs creaked and Ryker walked downstairs. Johann took out a key and unlocked Hiccup's cage with a smirk. "And I want you to have the honor of witnessing how a true _villain_ , as you would call it, takes over."

The click of the lock opening made Toothless go crazy. He started to trash around in his cage to rip the bars away and protect his rider from the evil man's hands. Hiccup moved away slightly, his hand still stretched out to Toothless. He only first pulled it away when Ryker reached inside and grabbed him roughly by the forearm. A gasp of pain was unavoidable.

The larger man let go when he was outside the cramped up cell and reached for the chains. In that moment, Hiccup knew he had a choice. There were no one restraining him from running or attacking. He could attack Johann, take his weapon and hold him hostage long enough for him to open Toothless' cage. They would be able to flee.

But then again, the trader came from the land of thieves and bandits. A surprise attack would lose its surprise in a flash and with his own injured hands it would be surprising if he even managed to stretch them out by his own will to grab the dagger.

Before he knew it, his hands were chained shut by a lock and he was pushed towards the stairs. Because he had been so deep in his thoughts, he fell on one knee.

Johann walked ahead of him and up the stairs while Ryker pushed the Viking up on his feet again. By now Toothless had stopped trashing because of the painful bars. There was smoke in the room from his attempt at melting the bars, but it didn't leave a single dent. He was completely trapped, and as he watched his rider and best friend get pushed out of sight, he truly understood that there was no use in trying.

As Ryker pushed Hiccup across the deck, a group of Vikings passed by them and went downstairs. Viggo was walking behind them and yelling out commands as if he was the one in control. Upon noticing Hiccup's stare, the man gave him a small smirk. His eyes gleamed with secrecy like nothing Hiccup had ever seen before and for once he felt like planning was useless. He couldn't predict the other male. He couldn't plan an escape route that was foolproof. He couldn't plan anything with him around.

Viggo disappeared down the way they came from, and Hiccup didn't know if he should be more worried that he couldn't hear his friend. He wasn't sure if hearing him was a sign that he was left untouched or if the men were drugging him down to ensure the Viking couldn't escape. The worry first slipped out of his mind when the same men walked upstairs, carrying heavy cargo up to deck. As Hiccup looked around, there was no doubt that the men were preparing for something big.

"I see you like the view?" Ryker hummed and kept pushing him towards the front of the ship.

Hiccup wanted to glare over his shoulder, but told himself it was pointless. "Well you haven't blindfolded me and Johann made it pretty clear he wanted to give me a front seat," he said, but grunted as he was pushed down on his knees. The larger Viking walked in front of him.

"Don't try to be funny around here," Ryker said harshly and yanked at his chains. Hiccup's body jolted forward straight away with a groan. The smaller Viking first now realized where he was placed; he was getting chained to a built in dragon prison. Inside it was a small, but white dragon which scales glistened from the morning sun. It growled protectively and immediately flew up to bite him.

Hiccup tried to jump away, but the chains held him back. Luckily the bars were doing the same to the dragon which carried a set of hungry eyes. It would only take a second for it to eat him with its large teeth.

Hiccup had to take a moment before he realized the dragon beneath him was the size of an oversized hatchling. It didn't show any sign of being mature except for its massive teeth, and yet it was way too massive for being a normal hatchling. Not only that, but the specie was unknown. Maybe its protective manner was normal and that it was truly a fully grown dragon?

"Enjoy your stay," Ryker said once he had secured his chains with a lock. Johann then stepped forward and took his place.

The trader folded his hands behind his back and his eyes looked over the horizon before them. Hiccup didn't follow his gaze at all. He was too deep in his thoughts over the fact that there was a dragon beneath him. A dragon he could use as his escape plan. It was perfect.

 _Almost too perfect._

Johann glanced own at him for a moment but didn't make it obvious. He looked back at the horizon and watched it with confident eyes. Hiccup finally looked up once he had the plan set in his head, and he let himself follow his gaze onto the horizon that reflected the rising sun. It was blinding his gaze, but eventually he noticed what Johann was looking at. There was an island coming into sight.

But when he squinted his eyes more to see all the details, he spotted a horde of dragons flying towards them. Hiccup swallowed thickly. They were about to be attacked.

 _And he had nowhere to take cover._

Johann on the other hand didn't seem panicked at all. If anything, he seemed even more confident. He was prepared. He had predicted it.

"Prepare the nets!" Viggo called out to the men and as Hiccup looked around, he could see all the Vikings getting prepared. The traps were pointed straight ahead at the horde. Not a single ship of the armada was without a net to shoot.

Hiccup could only watch as the dragons approached. If he tried to free the dragon and if they did manage to flee, they would be shot down in seconds. Johann had counterattacked his plans yet again, but Hiccup also had a feeling that Johann wasn't the one who predicted it. He looked over at Viggo who was making sure everything ran smoothly, and before he knew it, all the catapults launched their nets in a synchronized manner.

The first row shot first and a couple of dragons went down and into the water – a set of men were prepared on each ship with hooks to fish them out and onto the ships again. When the first row had shot, the second followed almost right away and so it went on until all the nets were used.

Hiccup tried to tug at the chains. He wanted to help them – tell them to turn around and flee the scene, but it was no use. He couldn't get to Toothless and he couldn't release his hands. All he could do was watch as the dragons fell one by one into the water and do nothing as the dragons who weren't being pulled up on the ship drowned in the vast ocean.

Johann kept standing beside him. He hadn't changed posture once or shouted commands and Hiccup knew why. Everything was running according to his plans.

Hiccup looked over at the ship to his left as a dragon screeched helplessly. It was first then that Hiccup noticed the familiar, yet unfamiliar specie. He had seen them in Heather's notebook, and they had only come across them on one island.

And that island belonged to the unknown alpha.

 _They were preparing to attack the island._

"Y-You have to stop this," Hiccup finally managed to speak out. He looked up at Johann and the man met his eyes – they didn't show any empathy as Hiccup had expected. All he could see was pleasure. "You don't know what you're doing!" he said and tried to yank at the chains again. The island was getting closer and closer and with the dragons who protected the peaceful island down, there was an open path for the men to pass through.

"Load the catapults!" Viggo yelled out to the men. Hiccup looked over his shoulder, ignoring the fact that Johann was watching him silently out of fascination. As he looked, he could see a set of men in the middle of the ship rolling together a huge ball of hay. It was tightly wrapped around a boulder with ropes to hold it together.

Hiccup yanked even more at the chains. He didn't care that the chains were tearing at his wrists or that his wounds were starting to bleed again. He didn't want to feel this helpless. To feel that he couldn't stop what he knew was coming.

Ryker stepped behind him with a grin. He grabbed his head and turned it forward again. "You better pay close attention. Not everyone will have the pleasure of watching this with their very own eyes~"

Hiccup swallowed thickly. Tears filled his eyes from the pain and the heartbreak. The beautiful island was finally in reach and he could see it just as he had a few days ago – the forest tall and green, and the nature untouched by humans. It was gorgeous.

But then...

The first catapult launched the boulder towards the island, but unlike what Hiccup had seen before, it was set on fire. The boulder flew straight into the forest and disappeared behind the trees. Not many seconds later, black smoke rose up.

Hiccup flinched as he heard catapult after catapult launch their enflamed boulders towards the island and just as before he could do nothing but watch. He could do nothing but watch every boulder get eaten up by the heavy forest and the dark clouds rise from where it had previously hit. The beautiful image of the island disappeared out of his head as the flames spread like wildfire.

"When this is all over," Johann finally spoke. The grin never left his lips. "Villages all over the world will write about this and teach them how to take control over such a massive beast!" He laughed. "We will restore the war," he said and turned to his men. "We will capture all the dragons in this world and bring back the games and our pride yet again!"

The men cheered loudly at that and suddenly everyone was working hard. They started to run around, wrap up the boulders faster than before and launch them towards the island with another cheer.

Hiccup slowly lowered his gaze to his lap. Everything he had worked for – everything he had sacrificed to create peace was about to get torn away from him. Everything he had built for the dragons was about to-

 _"ROAAAAAAAAAAAR."_

 _"This is magnificent..."_

Mala spoke softly as she rested her hand against the scales of a monstrous nightmare. It cooed softly at her touch, leaning fully in to show her his trust. The nightmare was a tropical colored dragon with yellow and orange scales.

"Like nothing I've ever encountered before in my life..." Mala said in awe. She rubbed his snout gently and looked over at Fishlegs as he spoke.

"He's bonded to you now!" Fishlegs giggled and hugged Meatlug happily. Aiden was sitting in her saddle so that they could properly bond with the dragons around them.

After the twins had explained everything – from their captivity to their last meeting with the others, and after Mala had made it clear she wanted her tribe to have dragons as well, Fishlegs and the twins were left to believe it was for the sole purpose of assisting their friends. However, that wasn't the plan Mala had in mind.

Mala looked over at her right-hand to see him bonding with a green and white gronckle. He was just as fascinated by the creatures as she was. After all, they hadn't met a lot of them. The Eruptodon had kept the wild dragons away from the island to repay the tribe for a safe and peaceful food source.

"My Queen," Throk laughed faintly as he noticed her delighted look around the dragon. He rubbed the Gronkle's head. "Never in a hundred years would I have taken you for a dragon rider."

"I am not," Mala hummed and turned to him. "These dragons shall be used as our frontlines against the dragon hunters."

Fishlegs' smile fell at that and even Meatlug growled. "Mala...these dragons aren't supposed to be used for war-

"Then how else would you suggest we fight them, Mr. Fishlegs?" Mala asked and turned to him with crossed arms. "Do you prefer we walk across the sea and knock at their doors?"

Fishlegs whimpered. "No...but they need bonding and training! And they need love!" he whimpered and hugged Meatlug even more.

"My love is limited," Mala said with no emotion displayed on her face.

"My Queen," Throk said worriedly. "Perhaps we should listen-

"You said that the dragon hunters were traveling with the whole armada," Mala said, cutting Throk off. Her eyes were interrogating Fishlegs. The Viking whimpered even more and tried to hide. Aiden on the other hand just watched her curiously. He was used to his mother talking with the same tone to other Vikings whenever they had done something bad.

"Y-yes..." Fishlegs whimpered.

"And what direction were they heading?" Mala asked patiently.

Before Fishlegs could answer and ramble around, the twins butted in. "South!" Tuffnut said and jumped down from his saddle. "I would know – they took me there."

Ruffnut smacked him across the head. "I was there with you!" She groaned. "Don't try to take all the glory!"

"Glory?" Tuffnut's eyes lit up. "Is that considered glory? We have to do that again-

"T-they went South-west from here..." Fishlegs whimpered. He was finally able to speak now that Mala's eyes were on the twins, but as he finished his sentence her eyes were back on him. He whimpered even more.

"And where is the prison?" Mala asked.

"North-east from here, my Queen," Throk said and went up beside her. Mala slowly started to smile – satisfied about something in her mind. "But what does this mean?"

"If the dragon hunters are grouped up and heading in the opposite direction, it will give us a clear shot at freeing our people from the prison," Mala said calmly and looked around at her people who had also been introduced to a dragon for themselves. The only ones left behind were the elders as they would be unable to attend to her plans.

Throk's eyes lit up as he realized. He nodded right away, but the three Berkians were hesitant. Fishlegs nervously spoke up. "I-I thought we were training them to back up our chief..."

Mala couldn't stifle a small laugh. "And go up against the armada? We would be outnumbered even with the dragons," she said and shook her head. "I never had the intention of joining the war, but I did promise to lend you a hand. And this is the only way I will agree to."

Throk nodded. "I agree with Queen Mala," he said and Fishlegs looked over at him. "There is no guarantee that your friends are safe. The only way we will be able to help them is to take out the prison outpost."

"And freeing the tribe there may earn us another ally in this war," Mala said, smiling gratefully at Throk.

"Magnificent plan, my Queen," Throk said, returning the smile. "As always."

Mala nodded at him and looked back at the Berkians before her. "We shall attack the prison and retrieve the innocent people they have imprisoned. I will not hold you back if you want to stay behind, but that is our-

"Leave behind and hide when we can explode stuff?" Ruffnut laughed.

"No way in Hel!" Tuffnut cheered happily and the two climbed into the saddles of their dragon. "When do we leave?!"

Mala smiled at that. "We will leave right away," she said and looked at Fishlegs who was looking at Aiden worriedly. He didn't want to leave the twins alone, but he didn't want to leave Aiden behind either. He had promised to watch over him. Sensing his problem, Mala soon said, "You are welcome to stay, but believe me. The Eruptodon won't let anyone close to the island without a fight. Aiden will be watched by the elders."

Fishlegs hesitated. "I-I promised to stay with him..."

Aiden cooed and looked up at him. He didn't understand what was happening at all. "I-is mama and papa coming?" he cooed hopefully.

Fishlegs whimpered and looked at Mala for a moment. He shook his head. "No...but...We're going out to find them," he said, hiding his hands behind his back. They always started to shake when he lied. "And then we'll bring them back here!"

Tuffnut and Ruffnut looked at each other. They soon smiled and nodded as well. "They are off doing some stuff that not even we would do because its so stupid!" Tuffnut laughed.

Ruffnut smacked him. "Why would you say that to him?!"

"What-he loves it when I talk!" Tuffnut huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm his favorite Uncle!"

"No you're not-

"But...I don't wanna be alone..." Aiden whimpered and tried to hug Fishlegs, but the man stepped away. He whimpered even more.

Mala smiled sadly and went up to him. She gently lifted him off the saddle and down at the ground. "Come on," She smiled and held his hand. She walked towards the elders who were sitting outside a house and watching over some other kids from the village. "They will stay with you," she said and gently stroked his hair.

Aiden hugged her leg nervously as he looked at them. His whimpering quiet down a bit. "W-will you stay and play with me?"

Mala smiled sadly. She carefully kneeled and laid her hand on his shoulder. "I have to make sure your parents return, okay? And then you can play all day with them!"

Aiden's eyes slowly lit up at that. He cooed in awe. His parents were really returning? He squealed adorably and nodded. "Play play play!" he giggled and hugged her.

Mala's eyes went a bit wide at that gesture, but she soon wrapped her arms back around him. "So, make sure you are a good little lad until then, alright?"

Aiden giggled at the nickname. The funny blacksmith back at Berk always used that and so did his grandparents. He nodded happily and pulled back.

Mala smiled and stood up. "We will return before you know it," She smiled and tapped his nose. Then she slowly let go of his hand and went towards her dragon. She carefully climbed up on his back.

Aiden cooed slightly as he watched everyone get ready. He didn't walk up to the kids to ask if he could play or sit by the elders to feel at least a little less alone. Instead he just kept standing there as he watched them climb into the saddle and leap into the air.

The new clumsy riders would have made him giggle or squeal, but instead he was having a flashback; a flashback to when he was home in Berk. The picture was faint in his mind as it blended in with what his eyes saw before him, but he could remember it so well; he was watching his parents leave just as Mala and the others were now.

They were leaving him behind in search of something and even though he wanted to run after them and stop them from leaving, he couldn't. He was frozen in spot. Not a single muscle moved aside from his lungs as they handled his weak and quiet sobs.

The figures in the air were slowly shrinking and the image of the door behind his parents continued to close slowly. And then there was nothing; no flashback and no dragons. The plaza came back in his sight and it took him some time to realize he wasn't home.

Aiden slowly looked around. The plaza was empty unlike before and the black dressed people were gone. All he could hear was the squeals of the kids that muffled the elders talks. He looked over at them for a moment before he slowly started to walk. He wasn't sure where he was trying to go, but a part of him told him that if he walked, he would find his parents again. He found his mother that way, so why wouldn't it work now?

The walking became jogging and the jogging changed into running. His little hands pushed away the cold and fluffy snow as he tried to run through it. By then he had already entered the forest. He only first stopped when he saw small footprints in the snow.

Aiden cooed quietly and slowly touched it. It looked a bit weird, but Aiden couldn't stop looking at it. He had seen his parents leave them and his father's metal leg always made a funny mark.

Aiden's eyes soon lit up in recognition. "Papa?" he whispered and followed the footprints with his eyes. It was leading deeper into the forest and towards a ruffling bush.

Aiden squealed adorably and started to run again. "Papa!" he giggled and ran through the snow. He chased after the tracks and the ruffling suddenly stopped as he approached it. Without even thinking about it, he moved away the leaves and looked at the small figure that was revealed.

The light in his eyes disappeared slightly. He hadn't found his father, but before him laid a small, silver colored dragon. It raised its head scared.

Aiden moved a bit away, but slowly moved back in the spot he stood beside him. He recognized the dragon from somewhere, but he couldn't tell where. The memory told him that the dragon wasn't a threat. It was...a friend.

Aiden cooed shyly and reached for its head, but the little dragon squeaked and ran out of the bush. The little boy quickly ran through the bush to follow it. For him it was almost like a game as the dragon ran into another bush.

With a squeal, Aiden ran after it and moved away the bush before him. He tilted his head as he was met by two similar dragons. "Wha...?"

The two dragons raised their heads scared and ran out to hide in another bush. The fun of the game only got better as the dragons themselves started to get playful as well. They realized after a few runs that he wasn't there to hurt them, but he was there to play, and the hatchlings gladly accepted.

Aiden fell down in the snow as he stumbled over his own feet. Because he had been running for so long, he didn't get up and instead just rolled over with a happy giggle. He looked up at the sky that was surrounded by the beautiful trees and for a moment he felt happy and relaxed – he didn't think that his parents were gone because the dragons made him feel like they were right there with him.

As he laid in the snow unmoving, the little hatchlings slowly approached him one by one. Small heads popped into his sight and Aiden watched them in awe. He remembered what Astrid had taught him and decided to keep laying still while the dragons sniffed his body. One gently nudged his face before it started to jump around and so did the others.

Aiden giggled happily at that and slowly sat up. "Cute!" he giggled and gently petted the one that had nudged him. The hatchling happily rubbed against him in return.

Aiden soon realized what he had been searching for again and looked at them. "Have you seen papa?" he cooed hopefully. He pointed at the footprints in the snow. "Papa..." he slowly trailed off as he realized they weren't his. It belonged to the hatchlings around him.

Aiden's ears filled with tears. He thought he had finally found his father, but he was nowhere to be seen. He looked at the bushes in hope for him to jump out, tell him it was a joke and hug him like the big man his mother had been with used to do. But nothing happened; no one jumped out of the bushes and no one came to embrace him. He was alone.

The hatchlings whimpered to each other as the child started to cry. They cooed and nudged him lovingly before moving away from each other. One of them jumped up on Aiden's back and wrapped its tail around his waist.

Aiden sniffled and wiped his eyes. "H-huh?" he looked up at it confused. He cooed as he saw the little dragons had flown up in the air and before he knew it, the ground started to stray further and further away from him.

Any other child would have cried and tried to get out of the dragon's grip, but Aiden didn't. His mother had taken him on flights throughout his whole life so the feeling of being in the cold air wasn't foreign and it wasn't terrifying at all.

 _It felt like home._

Aiden sniffled and looked behind him. The island was getting further and further out of sight and there was nothing ahead of them but the never ending ocean. Wherever the dragons were taking him, Aiden could only hope that his parents were in the same place. But even that thought didn't overcome his other one;

 _The thought of never meeting his parents again._

His eyes watered, but he wiped them straight away. The other kids had taught him that crying lead to nothing when you were afraid. His mother had said it was okay, but he felt even weaker and helpless and that was something he didn't enjoy at all. He would find his parents one way or another. Whatever it took and whatever it led to.

 _They would be reunited once again._


End file.
